][ 



OUR EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURS 

French Life 

German Life 
Russian Life 
Dutcii Life 

Swiss Life 

Spanish Life 
Italian Life 

Danish Life 

Austroi^Hungarian Life 
Tarh'sb Life 

Belgian Life 

Swedish Life 

I II iiTiinwmiifnir i "" 



/ 



OUR EUROPEAN 
NEIGHBOURS 

EDITED BY 

WILLIAM HARBUTT DAWSON 




c 



DUTCH LIFE IN TOWN AND 
COUNTRY 



DUTCH LIFE 
IN TOWN AND 
COUNTRY & ^ 

ai By p. M. HOUGH, B.A, 



V\ 



ILLUSTRATED 



G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 
NEW YORK AND LONDON 

XLbe •ffjnicftcrbocfter press 



83 



,H 



vat>\<^ 



Copyright, 1901 

BY 

G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 

Eleventh Printing 



ttbe fwicfeerboclict press, "Wcw SJotfe 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I 
National Characteristics . 



CHARIER IL 



Court and Society 



CHAPTER III 
The Professional Classes . 

CHAPTER IV 
The Position of Women 

CHAPTER V 
The Workman of the Towns 

CHAPTER VI 
The Canals and their Population . 

CHAPTER VII 
A Dutch Village 

CHAPTER VIII 
The Peasant at Home , . , , 

CHAPTER IX 
Rural Customs , . . . . 

CHAPTER X 

Kermis and St. Nicholas . 

V 



FA6E 

I 

XI 
21 

37 
so 
63 
76 
83 
99 
114 



vi Contents 

CHAPTER XI PAOB 

National Amusements 132 

CHAPTER XII 
Music and the Theatre ..... 145 

CHAPTER XIII 
SCHOOi^ and Schooi, IvIEE 154 

CHAPTER XIV 
The Universities 167 

CHAPTER XV 
Art and Letters ....... 179 

CHAPTER XVI 
The Dutch as Readers 193 

CHAPTER XVII 
POWTICAX LlEE AND THOUGHT . . . . 207 

CHAPTER XVIII 
The Administration of Justice .... 221 

CHAPTER XIX 
Religious Life and Thought . . . .235 

CHAPTER XX 
The Army and Navy 247 

CHAPTER XXI 
Holland over Sea 264 

Index ...•••••. 289 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

The; De;i,ft Gate at Rotterdam Frontispiece 

Types oe Zeei,and Women 6 

Zeeland Costumes 38 

Dutch Fisher-Girls 46 

An Overyssel Farmhouse 58 

A Sea-Going Canal 66 

A Village in Dyke-Land 76 

Zeeland Women, the Dark Types ... 84 

Interior oe Farmhouse, Showing Open Fire 

ON THE Floor 88 

Interior oe Farmhouse, Showing Door be- 
tween Stable and Diving-Room . . 96 

Palm Paschen— Begging for Eggs . . . 100 

ELermis— " Hossen-Hossen-Hi-Ha " . . .110 
After the picture by Van Geldrop. 

Zeeland Costumes 124 

A Canal in Dordrecht . . . . • . 144 

Parliament House at The Hague. View erom 

The Great Dake 210 

Interior oe the Church at Delftshaven 
where the Pilgrim Fathers Worshipped 
before Leaving for New England . . 238 
vii 



DUTCH LIFE IN TOWN 
AND COUNTRY 



CHAPTER I 

NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS 

THKRK is in human affairs a reason for every- 
thing we see, although not always reason in 
everything. It is the part of the historian to 
seek in the archives of a nation the reasons for 
the facts of common experience and observa- 
tion ; it is the part of the philosopher to moral- 
ise upon antecedent causes and present results. 
Neither of these positions is taken up by the 
author of this little book. He merely, as a rule, 
gives the picture of Dutch life now to be seen in 
the Netherlands, and in all things tries to be 
scrupulously fair to a people renowned for their 
kindness and courtesy to the stranger in their 
midst. 

And this strikes one first about Holland — that 
everything, except the old Parish Churches, the 



2 Dutch Life 

Town Halls, the dykes, and the trees, is in minia- 
ture. The cities are not populous ; the houses 
are not large ; the canals are not wide ; and one 
can go from the most northern point in the 
country to the most southern, or from the ex- 
treme east to the extreme west, in a single day, 
and, if it be a summer's day, in daylight, while 
from the top of the tower of the Cathedral at 
Utrecht one can look over a large part of the 
land. 

As it is with the natural so it is with the 
political horizon. This latter embraces for the 
average Dutchman the people of a country whose 
interests seem to him bound up for the most part 
in the twelve thousand square miles of lowland 
pressed into a corner of Europe ; for, extensive 
as the Dutch colonies are, they are not " taken 
in " by the average Dutchman as are the coloniea 
of some other nations. There are one or two 
towns, such as The Hague and Arnhem, where 
an Indo-Dutch society may be found, consisting 
of retired colonial civil servants, who very often 
have married Indian women, and have either re- 
turned home to live on well-earned pensions or 
who prefer to spend the money gained in India 
in the country which gave them birth. But 
Holland has not yet begun to develop as far as 
she might the great resources of Netherlands 
India, and therefore no very great amount of in- 
terest is taken in the colonial possessions outside 
merely home, official, or Indo-Dutch society. 



National Characteristics 3 

With regard to the affairs of his country gener- 
ally, the state of mind of the average Dutchman 
has been well described as that of a man well on 
in years, who has amassed a fair fortune, and 
now takes things easily, and loves to talk over 
the somewhat wild doings of his youth. Nothing 
is more common than to hear the remarks from 
both old and young, " We have been great," 
" We have had our time," " Kvery nation 
reaches a climax"; and certainly Holland has 
been very great in statesmen, patriots, theolo- 
gians, artists, explorers, colonisers, soldiers, sail- 
ors, and martyrs. The names of William the 
Silent, Barneveldt, Arminius, Rembrandt, Ru- 
bens, Hobbema, Grotius, De Ruyter, Erasmus, 
Ruysdael, Daendels, Van Speijk and Van Tromp 
afford proof of the pertinacity, courage, and de- 
votion of Netherlands' sons in the great move- 
ments which have sprung from her soil. 

To have successfully resisted the might of a 
Philip of Spain and the strategy and cruelties of 
an Alva is alone a title-deed to imperishable fame 
and honour. Dutch men and women fought and 
died at the dykes, and suffered awful agonies on 
the rack and at the stake. " They sang songs 
of triumph," so the record runs, " while the 
grave-diggers were shovelling earth over their 
living faces." It is not, therefore, to be wondered 
at that a legacy of true and deep feeling has been 
bequeathed to their descendants, and the very 
suspicion of injustice or infringement of what 



4 Dutch Life 

they consider liberty sets the Dutchman's heart 
aflame with patriotic devotion or private re- 
sentment. Phlegmatic, even comal, and most 
difficult to move in most things, yet any ' ' inter- 
ference ' ' wakes up the dormant spirit which that 
Prince of Orange so forcibly expressed when he 
said, in response to a prudent soldier's fear of 
consequences if resistance were persisted in, " We 
can at least die in the last ditch. ' ' 

Until one understands this tenacity in the 
Dutch character one cannot reconcile the old- 
world methods seen all over the country with the 
advanced ideas expressed in conversation, books, 
and newspapers. The Dutchman hates to be 
interfered with, and resents thq^ advice of candid 
friends, and cannot stand any " chaff." He has 
his kind of humour, which is slow in expression 
and material in conception, but he does not 
understand " banter." He is liberal in theories, 
but intensely conservative in practice. He will 
agree with a new theory, but often do as his 
grandfather did, and so in Holland there may be 
seen very primitive methods side by side with fin 
de si^cle thought. In a salon in any principal town 
there will be thought the most advanced, and man- 
ner of life the most luxurious, but a stone's throw 
off, in a cottage or in a farmhouse just outside the 
town, may be witnessed the life of the seventeenth 
century. Some of the reasons for this may be 
gathered from the following pages as they de- 
scribe the social life and usages of the people. 



National Characteristics 5 

In the seven provinces which comprise the 
Netherlands there are considerable differences in 
scenery, race, dialect, pronunciation, and religion, 
and therefore in the features and character of the 
people. United provinces in the course of time 
effect a certain homogeneity of purpose and in- 
terest, yet there are certain fundamental differ- 
ences in character. The Frisian differs from the 
Zeelander : one is fair and the other dark, and 
both differ from the Hollander. And not only 
do the provincials differ in character, dialect, and 
pronunciation from one another, but also the in- 
habitants of some cities differ in these respects 
from those of other cities. An educated Dutch- 
man can tell at once if a man comes from Am- 
sterdam, Rotterdam, or The Hague. The 
" cockney " of these places differs, and of such 
pronunciations "Hague Dutch" is considered 
the worst, although — true to the analogy of Lon- 
don — the best Dutch is heard in The Hague. 
This difference in " civic " pronunciation is cer- 
tainly very remarkable when one remembers that 
The Hague and Rotterdam are only sixteen miles 
apart, and The Hague and Amsterdam only forty 
miles. Aruhem and The Hague are the two most 
cosmopolitan cities in the kingdom, and one 
meets in their streets all sorts and conditions of 
the Netherlander. 

All other towns are provincial in character and 
akin to the count3^-town type. Bven Amster- 
dam, the capital of the country, is only a com- 



6 Dutch Life 

mercial capital. The Court is there only for a 
few days in each year; Parliament does not meet 
there ; the public offices are not situated there ; 
and diplomatic representatives are not accredited 
to the Court at Amsterdam but to the Court at 
The Hague ; and so Amsterdam is " the city," 
and no rnore and no less. This Venice of the 
North looks coldly on the pleasure seeking and 
loving Hague, and jealously on the thriving and 
rapidly increasing port of Rotterdam, and its 
merchant princes build their villas in the neigh- 
bouring and pleasant woods of Bussum and 
Hilversum, and near the brilliantly-coloured 
bulb-gardens of Haarlem, living in these sub- 
urban places during the summer months, while 
in winter they return to the fine old houses in 
the Heerengracht and the many other grachten 
through which the waters of the canals move 
slowly to the river. But to The Hague the city 
magnates seldom come, and the young men con- 
sider their contemporaries of the Court capital 
wanting in energy and initiative, and very proud, 
and so there is little communication between the 
two towns— between the City and Belgravia. 
One knows, as one walks in the streets of Amster- 
dam, The Hague, Rotterdam, or Utrecht, that 
each place is a microcosm devoted to its own 
particular and narrow interests, and in these re- 
spects thej' are survivals of the Italian cities of 
the Middle Ages. There is, indeed, great similar- 
ity in the style of buildings, and, with the excep- 



National Characteristics 7 

tion of Maestricht, in the south of the country, 
which is mediaeval and Flemish, one always feels 
that one is in Holland. The neatness of the 
houses, the straight trees fringing the roads, the 
canals and their smell, the steam-trams, the sound 
of the conductor's horn and the bells of the horse- 
trams, the type of policeman, and above and 
beyond all the universal cigar — all these things 
are of a pattern, and that pattern is seen every- 
where, and it is not until one has lived in the 
country for some time that one recognises that 
there are differences in the mode of life in the 
larger towns which are more real than apparent, 
and that this practical isolation is not realised by 
the stranger. 

The country life of the peasant, however, is 
much more uniform in character, in spite of the 
many differences in costume and in dialect. The 
methods of agriculture are all equally old- 
fashioned, and the peasants equally behind the 
times in thought. Their thrifty habits and de- 
votion to the soil of their country ensure them a 
living which is thrown away by the country folk 
of other lands, who at the first opportunity flock 
into the towns. But the Dutch peasant is a 
peasant, and does not mix, or want to mix, with 
the townsman except in the way of business. He 
brings his garden and farm produce for sale, and 
as soon as that is effected — generally very much 
to his own advantage, for he is wonderfully 
" slim " — he rattles back, drawn by his dogs or 



8 Dutch Life 

little pony, to the farmhouse, and relates how he 
has come safely back, his stock of produce dimin- 
ished, but his stock of inventions and subtleties 
improved and increased by contact with house- 
wives and shopkeepers, who do their best to drive 
a hard bargain. In dealing with the ' ' boer ' ' the 
townspeople's ingenuity is taxed to the utmost 
in endeavouring to get the better of one whose 
nature is heavy but cunning, and families who 
have dealt with the same ' ' boer ' ' vendor for 
years have to be as careful as if they were trans- 
acting business with an entire stranger. The 
" boer's" argument is simplicity itself: " They 
try to get the better of me, and I try to get the 
better of them " — and he does it! 

If, however, there are these differences between 
city and city and class and class, there is one 
common characteristic of the Dutchman which, 
like the mist which envelops meadow and street 
alike in Holland after a warm day, pertains to the 
whole race, viz., his deliberation, that slowness of 
thought, speech, and action which has given rise 
to such proverbs as " You will see such and such 
a thing done * in a Dutch month. ' ' ' The Nether- 
lander is most diflScult to move, but once roused 
he is far more difficult to pacify. Many reasons are 
given for this " phlegm," and most people attri- 
bute it to the climate, which is very much abused, 
especially by Dutch people themselves, because 
of its sunlessness during the winter months ; 
though as a matter of fact the climate is not so 



National Characteristics 9 

very different from that in the greater part of 
England. The temperature on an average is a 
little higher in summer and a little lower in 
winter than in the eastern part of England ; but 
certainly there is in the southern part of the 
country a softness in the air which is enervating, 
and in such places as Flushing snow is seldom 
seen, and does not lie long ; but the same thing 
is seen in Cornwall. Hence this climatic influ- 
ence is not a sufficient reason in itself to account 
for the undeniable and general ' ' slowness ' ' of 
the Dutchman. It is to be found rather in the 
history of the country, which has taught the 
Netherlander to attempt to prove by other 
people's experience the value of new ideas, and 
only when he has done so will he adopt them. 
This saps all initiative. 

There is a great lack of faith in everything, in 
secular as well as religious matters ; the Dutch- 
man will risk nothing ; for four cents' outlay he 
must be quite certain of six cents in return. As 
long as he is in this mood the country will ' ' mark 
time," but not advance much. The Dutchman 
believes so thoroughly in being comfortable, and, 
given a modest income which he has inherited or 
gained, he will not only not go a penny beyond 
it in his expenditure, but often he will live very 
much below it. He would never think of ' ' living 
up to " his income ; his idea is to leave his 
children something very tangible in the shape of 
gulden. A small income and little or no work 



lo Dutch Life 

is a far more agreeable prospect than a really 
busy life allied to a large income. All the 
cautiousness of the Scotchman the Dutchman 
has, but not the enterprise and industry. With 
his cosmopolitanism, which he has gained by 
having to learn and converse in so many lan- 
guages, in order to transact the large transfer 
business of such a country as the Netherlands, 
he has acquired all the various views of life 
which cosmopolitanism opens to a man's mind. 
The Dutchman can talk upon politics extremely 
well, but his interest is largely academic and not 
personal ; he is as a man who looks on and loves 
desipere i?i loco. 

The Dutchman is therefore a philosopher and a 
delightful raconteur, but at present he is not doing 
any very great things in the international battle 
of life, though when great necessity arises there 
is no man who can do more or do better. 




CHAPTER II 



COURT AND SOCIETY 



SOCIETY life in Holland is, as everywhere 
else, the gentle art of escaping self-confes- 
sion of boredom. But society in Holland is far 
different from society abroad, because The Hague, 
the official residence of Queen Wilhelmina, is not 
only not the capital of her kingdom, but is only 
the third town of the country so far as importance 
and population go. The Hague is the royal resi- 
dence and the seat of the Netherlands Govern- 
ment, but although, as a rule, Cabinet Ministers 
live there, most of the members of the First 
Chamber of the States- General live elsewhere, 
and a great many of their colleagues of the 
Second Chamber follow their example, preferring 
a couple of hours' railway travelling per day or 
per week during the time the States sit, to a 
permanent stay. Hence, so far as political im- 
portance goes, society has to do without it to a 
great extent. Nor is The Hague a centre of 
science. The universities of Leyden, Utrecht, 
and Amsterdam are very near, but as the Dutch 
proverb judiciously says, " Nearly is not half"; 



12 Dutch Life 

there is a vast difference between having the rose 
and the thing next to it. In consequence the 
leading scientific men of the Netherlands do not, 
as a rule, add the charm of their conversation to 
social intercourse at The Hague. 

High life there is represented by members of 
the nobility and by such high officials in the 
army, navy, and civil service as mix with that 
nobility. Of course there are sets just as there 
are everywhere else, sets as delightful to those 
who are in them as they are distasteful to out- 
siders; but talent and money frequently succeed 
in making serious inroads upon the preserves of 
noble birth. This is, however, unavoidable, for 
the Netherlands were a republic for two cen- 
turies, and the scions of the ancient houses are 
not over-numerous. They fought well in the 
wars of their country against Spain, France, and 
Great Britain, but fighting well in many cases 
meant extermination. 

On the other hand, two centuries of republican 
rule are apt to turn any republicans into patricians, 
particularly so if they are prosperous, self-con- 
fident, and well aware of their importance. And 
a patrician republic necessarily turns into an 
oligarchy. The prince-merchants of Holland 
were Holland's statesmen, Holland's absolute 
rulers; two centuries of heroic struggles, intrepid 
energy, crowned with success on all sides, may 
even account for their belief that they were en- 
trusted by the Almighty with a special mission 



Court and Society 13 

to bring liberty, equal rights, and prosperity to 
other nations. 

When, after Napoleon's downfall, the Nether- 
lands constituted themselves a kingdom, the de- 
pleted ranks of the aristocracy were soon amply 
filled from these old patrician families. Clause 
65 of the Netherlands Constitution says, " The 
Queen grants nobility. No Dutchman may ac- 
cept foreign nobility. ' ' This is the only occasion 
upon which the word nobility appears in any 
code. No Act defines the status, privileges, or 
rights of this nobility, because there are none. 
There is, however, a Hooge Raad van Adel, con- 
sisting of a permanent chairman, a permanent 
secretary, and four members, whose functions it 
is to report on matters of nobility, especially 
heraldic and genealogic, and on applications from 
Town Councils which wish to use some crest 
or other. This "High Council of Nobility" 
acts under the supervision of the Minister 
of Justice, and its powers are regulated by 
royal decrees, or writs in council. The titles 
used are Jonkheer (Baronet) and Jonkvroiiw^ 
Baron and Baroness, Graaf, (Karl) and Gravin. 
Marquess and Duke are not used as titles 
by Dutch noblemen. If any man is enno- 
bled, all his children, sons as well as daugh- 
ters, share the privilege, so there is no 
"courtesy title"; ofl&cially they are indicated 
by the father's rank from the moment of their 
birth, but as long as they are young, it is the 



14 Dutch Life 

custom to address the boys as Jonker, the girls 
as Freule. 

For the rest, life at The Hague is very much 
like life everywhere else. In summer there is a 
general exodus to foreign countries ; in winter, 
dinners, bazaars, balls, theatre, opera, a few 
official Court functions, which may become more 
numerous in the near future if the young Queen 
and Prince Henry are so disposed, are the order 
of the day. For the present, " Het Loo," that 
glorious country-seat in the centre of picturesque, 
hilly, wooded Gelderland, continues to be the 
favourite residence of the Court, and only during 
the colder season is the palace in the " Noor- 
deinde," at The Hague, inhabited by the Queen. 

Her Majesty, apparently full of youthful mirth 
and energy, enjoys her life in a wholesome and 
genuine manner. State business is, of course, 
dutifully transacted, but as the entire constitu- 
tional responsibility rests with the Cabinet Min- 
isters and the High Councils of State, she has no 
need to feel undue anxiety about her decisions. 
She is well educated, a strong patriot, and has on 
the whole a serious turn of mind, which came out 
in pathetic beauty as she took the oath in the 
' ' Nieuwe Kerk ' ' of Amsterdam at her corona- 
tion. How far she and her husband will influ- 
ence and lead society life in Holland remains to 
be seen. Both are young and their union is 
younger still. During the late King's life and 
Queen Emma's subsequent widowhood, society 



Court and Society 15 

was for scores of years left to itself, and of course 
it has settled down into certain grooves. But, on 
the other hand, the tastes and inclinations of well- 
bred, well-to-do-people, with an inexhaustible 
amount of spare time on their hands, and an un- 
limited appetite for amusement in their minds, 
are everywhere the same. Of course. Ministerial 
receptions, political dinners, and the intercourse 
of Ambassadors and foreign Ministers at The 
Hague form a special feature of social life there, 
but here, again. The Hague is just like European 
capitals generally. 

Once every year the Dutch Court and the 
Dutch capital proper meet. Legally, by the way, 
it is inaccurate to indicate even Amsterdam as 
the capital of Holland ; no statute mentions a 
capital of the kingdom, but by common consent 
Amsterdam, being the largest and most import- 
ant town, is always accorded that title, so highly 
valued by its inhabitants. The Royal Palace in 
Amsterdam is royal enough, and it is also suffi- 
ciently palatial, but it is no Royal Palace in the 
strict sense of the word. It was built (1649-1655), 
and for centuries was used, as a Town Hall. As 
such it is a masterpiece, and one's imagination 
can easily go back to the times when the power- 
ful and masterful Burgomasters and Sheriffs met 
in the almost oppressing splendour of its vast 
hall. It is an ideal meeting-place for stern mer- 
chants, enterprising ship-owners, and energetic 
traders. Every hall, every room, every ornament 



1 6 Dutch Life 

speaks of trade, trade, and trade again. And 
there lies some grim irony in the fact that 
these merchants, whose meeting-place is sur- 
mounted by the proud S5^mbol of Atlas carrying 
the globe, oflfered that mansion as a residence to 
their kings, when Holland and Amsterdam could 
no longer boast of supporting the world by their 
wealth and their energy. 

Here they meet once a year — the stern, ancient 
city, represented by its sturdy citizens, its fair 
women, its proud inhabitants, and Holland's 
j'outhful Queen, blossoming forth as a symbol of 
new, fresh life, fresh hope and promise. Here 
they meet, the sons and daughters of the men 
and women who never gave way, who saw their 
immense riches accrue, as their liberties grew, by 
sheer force of will, by inflexible determination, 
by dauntless power of purpose ; here they meet, 
the last descendant of the famous House of 
Orange-Nassau, the queenl}^ bride, whose fore- 
fathers were well entitled to let their proud war- 
cry resound on the battlefields of Europe : A 
Dioi, ghiereiix sang de Nassati ! 

When the Queen is in Amsterdam the citizens 
go out to the " Dam," the Square where the 
palace stands, offering their homage by cheers 
and waving of hats, and by singing the war- 
psalm of the old warriors of William the Silent, 
Wilhelmus van Nassouwe. Then the leaders 
of Amsterdam, its merchants, scientists, and 
artists, leave their beautiful homes on Heeren- 



Court and Society 17 

and Keizers-gracht, with their wives and daugh- 
ters wrapped in costly garments, glittering in 
profusion of diamonds and rubies and pearls, and 
drive to the huge palace to oflfer homage to their 
Queen, just as proud as she, just as patriotic as 
she, just as faithful and loyal as she. 

Three hundred years have done their incessant 
work in welding the House of Orange and Am- 
sterdam together ; ruptures and quarrels have 
occurred ; yet, after every struggle, both found 
out that they could not well do without each 
other ; and now when the Queen and the city 
meet, mutual respect, mutual confidence, and 
reciprocal aifection attest the firm bond which 
unites them. 

To the Amsterdam patriciate the yearly visit 
of the Queen is a social function full of interest. 
To the Queen it is more than that; she visits not 
only the patricians, she also visits the people, the 
poor and the toilers. Of course Amsterdam has 
its Socialists, and a good many of them, too, and 
Socialists are not only fiery but also vociferous 
republicans as a rule, who believe that royalty 
and a queen are a blot upon modern civilisation. 
But their sentiments, however well uttered, are 
not popular. For when " Our Child," as the 
Queen is still frequently called, drives through 
the workmen's quarter of Amsterdam, the " Jor- 
daan " (a corruption of the French Jardzn), the 
bunting is plentiful, the cheering and singing are 
more so, and the general enthusiasm surpasses 



1 8 Dutch Life 

both. The " man in the street," that remarkable 
political genius of the present age, has scarcely 
ever wavered in his simple affection for his Prince 
and Princess of Orange, and though this affection 
is personal, not political — for nothing is political 
to the " man in the street " — there it is none the 
less, and it does not give way to either reasoning 
or prejudice. 

Such is the external side of Court life. Inter- 
nally it strikes one as simple and unaffected. 
Queen Kmma was a lady possessing high quali- 
fications as a mother and as a ruler. She grasped 
with undeniable shrewdness the popular taste and 
fancy ; she had no diflSculty in realising that her 
rather easy-going, sometimes blustering, Consort 
could have retained a great deal more of his 
popularity by very simple means, if he had cared 
to do so. She did care, so she allowed her little 
girl to be a little girl, and she let the people 
notice it. She went about with her, all through 
the country, and the people beheld not two proud 
princesses, strutting about in high and mighty 
manner, but a gracious, kind lady and an un- 
affected child. This child showed a genuine in- 
terest in sport in Friesland, in excavations in 
Maestricht, in ships and quays and docks in Rot- 
terdam and Amsterdam, and in hospitals and 
orphanages everywhere. Anecdotes came into 
existence — the little Queen had been seen at 
" hop-scotch," had refused to go to bed early, 
had annoyed her governess, had been skating, 



Court and Society 19 

had been snow-balling her royal mother, etc. 
And later, when she was driving or riding, when 
she attended State functions or paid ofl&cial visits, 
there was always a simplicity in her turn-out, a 
quiet dignity in her demeanour, which proved 
that she felt no particular desire to advertise 
herself as one of the wealthiest sovereigns of the 
world by the mere splendour of her surroundings. 

This supreme tact of Queen Emma resulted in 
her daughter being educated as a queen as the 
Dutch like their sovereigns. Court life in The 
Hague or at the I^oo certainly lacks neither dig- 
nity nor brilliancy, but it lacks showiness, and 
many an English nobleman lives in a grander 
style than Holland's Queen. Now, education 
may bend, but it does not alter a character, and 
whatever qualities may have adorned or otherwise 
influenced the late King, he was no more a stick- 
ler for etiquette or a lover of display than Queen 
Emma has proved to be. So there is a probabil- 
ity that their daughter will also be satisfied with 
very limited show, and if Prince Henry be wise, 
he will not interfere with the Queen's inclinations. 
He is said to be " horsy," but the same may be 
said of her, though as yet her ' ' horsiness ' ' has 
not become an absorbing passion, nor is it likely 
to be. 

It is said also that she abhors music, but as 
long as she, as Queen, does not transfer her 
abhorrence from the art to the artists, no harm 
will be done. The facts are that, simple as her 



20 



Dutch Life 



tastes are, she does not impose her simpHcity 
upon others. When she presides at State dinners 
or at Court dinners, she is entirely the grande 
dame, but when she is allowed to be wholly her- 
self, in a small, quiet circle, she is praised by 
everyone, low or high, who has been favoured 
with an invitation to the royal table, for her 
natural and unaffected manners, her urbanity, 
and her gentle courtesy. 




CHAPTER III 



THE PROFESSIONAL CLASSES 



THK professional classes of Holland show their 
characteristics best in the social circle in 
which they move and find their most congenial 
companionships. Imagine, then, that we are the 
guests of the charming wife of a successful coun- 
sel (advocaat en procureur) — Mr. Walraven, let 
us call him — settled in a large and prosperous 
provincial town. She is a typical Dutch lady, 
with bright complexion, kind, clear blue eyes, 
rather dark eyebrows, which give a piquant air 
to the white and pink of the face, and a mass of 
fair golden hair, simply but tastefully arranged, 
leaving the ears free, and adorning but not hiding 
the comely shape of the head. She wears a dark- 
brown silk dress, covered with fine Brussels lace 
around the neck, at the wrists, along the bodice, 
and here and there on the skirt. A few rings 
glitter on her fingers, and her hands are con- 
stantly busy with a piece of point-lace embroid- 
ery ; for many Dutch ladies cannot stand an 
evening without the companionship of a hand- 
werkje, as fancy-needlework is called. It does 



22 Dutch Life 

not in the least interfere with their conversational 
duties. She is rather tall. Dutch men and 
women seem to have all sizes equally distributed 
amongst them ; it cannot be said that they are a 
short people, like the French and the Belgians, 
nor can the indication of middle-size be so rightly 
applied to them as to their German neighbours, 
whereas the taller Anglo-Saxons can frequently 
find their match in the Netherlands. 

The room in which we are seated is furnished 
in so-called " old Dutch style." My friend and 
his wife have collected fine old wainscots, side- 
boards and cupboards of richlj^ carved oak in 
Friesland and in the Flemish parts of Belgium. 
Their tables and chairs are all of the same ma- 
terial and artistically cut. A very dark, greenish- 
grey paper covers the walls ; the curtains, the 
carpet, and the doors are in the same slightly 
sombre shades. Venetian mirrors, Delft, Chinese 
and Rouen china plates, arranged along the walls, 
over the carved oak bench, and on the over- 
mantel, make delightful patches of bright colour 
in the room, and the easy-chairs are as stylish as 
they are comfortable. 

Our visit has fallen in the late autumn, and the 
gas burns brightly in the bronze chandelier, 
while the fire in the old-fashioned circulating 
stove, a rare specimen of ancient Flemish design, 
makes the room look cosy and hospitable. For 
the moment our friend the lawyer is absent. He 
has been called away to his study, for a client has 



The Professional Classes 23 

come to see Mm on urgent business, and we are 
left in the gracious society of his wife in the 
comfortable sitting-room. On the table the Japan 
tray, with its silver teapot, sugar-basin, milk- jug, 
and spoon-box of mother-of-pearl and crystal, and 
its dark- blue real China cups and saucers, enjoys 
the company of two silver boxes, on silver trays, 
full of all sorts of koekjes (sweet biscuits). 
Many Dutch families like to take a koekje with 
their tea, tea-time falling in Holland between 
7 and 8 o'clock, half-way between dinner at 5 
or 6 P.M. and supper at 10 or 11 p.m. A cigar- 
stand is not wanting, nor yet dainty ashtrays; 
while by the side of our hostess is an old- 
fashioned brass komfoor or chafer/ on a high 
foot, so that within easy reach of the lady's hand 
is the handle of the brass kettle, in which the 
theewater is boiling. 

Conversation turns from politics and literature 
to the ball to which my hostess, her husband, and 
we as their guests have been invited at a friend's 
house. She intends to go earlier ; he and we are 
to follow later in the evening, for that evening 
his Krans is to meet at his house, and it will 
keep us till eleven o'clock. A Krans is sim- 
ply a small company of very good Iriends who 
meet, as a rule, once a month, at the house of 
one of them, and at such meetings converse about 

^Komfoor (or kaffoor) aad chafer are etymologically 
the same word, derived from the Latin calefacere. The 
French member of the family is chauffoir. 



24 Dutch Life 

things in general. The English word for 
Kra7is is ' ' wreath, ' ' and the name indicates the 
intimate and thoroughly friendly relations exist- 
ing between the composing members. They are 
twisted and twined together not merely by affec- 
tionate feeling, but also by equality of social 
position, education, and intelligence. 

Our friends' little circle numbers seven, and as 
everyone of them happens to be the leading man 
in his profession in that town, and in conse- 
quence wields a powerful influence, their Krans is 
generally nicknamed the " Heptarchy." Our 
friend the lawyer is not only a popular legal 
adviser, but as Wethouder (alderman) for finance 
and public works he is the much-admired orig- 
inator of the rejuvenated town. The place 
had been fortified in former days, but after the 
home defence of Holland was reorganised and 
a system of defence on a coherent and logically 
conceived basis accepted, all fortified towns dis- 
appeared and became open cities, of which this 
was one. The public-spirited lawyer grasped the 
situation at once, and, spurred by his influence 
and enthusiasm, the Town Council adopted a 
large scheme of streets, roads, parks, and squares, 
so that when all was completed the inhabitants 
of the old city scarcely knew where they were. 
Besides this, he is legal adviser of the local 
branch of the Netherlands Bank, a director on 
the boards of various limited companies, and the 
president-director of a prosperous Savings Bank. 



The Professional Classes 25 

Nevertheless^ he finds time in his crowded life to 
read a great deal, to see his friends occasionally, 
and to keep up an incessant courtship of his 
handsome wife, who in return asseverates that 
he is the most sociable husband in the world. 

After Walraven has returned to the tea-table, 
his admiring consort leaves us, and shortly after- 
wards his best friend, within and without the 
Krans, Dr. Klaassen, appears on the scene. He 
and Dr. Klaassen were students at the same 
University, and nothing is better fitted to form 
lifelong friendship than the freedom of Holland's 
University life and University education. Dr. 
Klaassen is one of the most attractive types of the 
Dutch medical man. His University examina- 
tions did not tie him too tightly to his special 
science. Like all Dutch students, he mixed 
freely with future lawyers, clergymen, philoso- 
phers, and philologists, and it is often said that 
while the University teaches young men chiefly 
sound methods of work, students in Holland 
acquire quite as much instruction from each other 
as from their professors. Doctor Klaassen left 
the University as fresh as when he entered it, and 
ready to take a healthy interest in all departments 
of human affairs. He is a man to whom the 
Homeric phrase might well be applied — "A 
physician is a man knowing more than many 
others. ' ' 

His non-professional work takes him to the 
boards and committees of societies promoting 



26 Dutch Life 

charity, ethics, religion, literature, and the fine 
arts. The local branch of the famous Maat- 
schappij tot Nut van 7 Algemeen (the " Society 
for promoting the Common- weal ") and its 
various institutions, schools, libraries, etc., find 
in him one of their most energetic and faithful 
directors; a local hospital admitting people of all 
religious denominations has grown up by his un- 
tiring energy; and he prepared the basis upon 
which younger men afterwards built what is now 
a model institution in Holland ; nor does he 
forget the poor and the orphans, to whom he 
gives quite half his time, though how much of 
his money he gives them nobody knows, least of 
all he himself. 

The Reverend Mr. Barendsen, the third arri- 
val, is a very diflferent person. His sermons are 
eloquent; he is a fluent speaker — too fluent, some 
say, for words and phrases come so easily to him 
that the lack of thought is not always felt by this 
preacher, although noticed by his flock. Now, 
a sermon for Dutch Protestants is a difl&cult thing; 
it has to be long enough to fill nearly a whole 
service of about two hours ; and it is listened to 
by educated and uneducated people, who all ex- 
pect to be edified. Domine Barendsen, like so 
many of his colleagues, tries to meet this difl&culty 
by giving light nourishment in an attractive 
form. But if his sermons do not succeed as well 
as his kind intentions deserve, his influence is 
firmly established by his sympathetic personality. 



The Professional Classes 27 

He may be much more superficial than his two 
friends ; he may be less dogged, less tenacious 
than they ; yet his fertile brain, his quick intelli- 
gence, and his serious character have won for him 
a unique position, and his public influence is very 
great. Both doctor and parson meet and mix in 
the best society of the town, but the slums of the 
poor are also equally well known to them ; neither 
is a member of the Town Council, but the same 
institutions have their common support. lyivings 
in Holland are not over-luxurious ; and the 
consequence is that many '* domines " go out 
lecturing, or make an additional income by trans- 
lating or writing books. Some of Holland's best 
and most successful authors and poets are, or 
were, clergymen, such as Allard Pierson, P. A. 
de Genestet, Nicolaas Beets (Hildebrand), Coen- 
raad Busken Huet, J. J. L. ten Kate, Dr. Jan ten 
Brink, Bernard ter Haar, etc. Domine Barend- 
sen is likewise well known in Dutch literary 
circles. 

General Hendriks is the next to be announced, 
Dutch officers do not like to go about in their 
uniform, but the gallant general is also expected 
at the ball, and so he has donned his military 
garments. He is a Genist a Royal Engineer, 
and had his education at the Royal Military 
Academy at Breda. This means that he is no 
swashbuckler, but a genial, well-mannered, open- 
minded, and well-read gentleman, with a some- 
what scientific turn of mind and a rare freedom 



28 Dutch Life 

from military prejudice. Hollanders are not a 
military people in the German sense, and fire- 
eaters and military fanatics are rare, but they are 
rarest amongst the officers of the General Staff, 
the Royal Engineers, and the Artillery. 

General Hendriks married a lady of title 
with a large fortune, so his position is a very 
pleasant one. His friendship for the other ' ' Hep- 
tarchists" is necessarily of recent date, for he has 
been abroad a great deal, and was five years in 
the Dutch East Indies fighting in the endless 
war against Atchin. His stay there has widened 
his views still more, and when he tells of his 
experiences he is at once interesting and attrac- 
tive, for he is well-informed and a charming 
raconteur. His rank causes society to impose on 
him duties ■v\:hich he is inclined to consider as 
annoying, but he fulfils them graciously enough. 
He is a popular president-director of the Groote 
Societeit (the Great Club), and of Csecilia, the 
most prominent society for vocal and instrumental 
music ; and whenever races, competitions, ex- 
hibitions, bazaars, and similar social functions, to 
which the Dutch are greatly addicted, take place, 
General Hendriks is sure to be one of the honor- 
ary presidents, or at least a member of the work- 
ing board, and his urbanity and affability are 
certain to ensure success. He has been a mem- 
ber of the States-General, and is said to be a 
probable future Minister of War. But the weak 
spot in his heart is for poetry and for literature 



The Professional Classes 29 

generally ; the number of poems he knows by 
heart is marvellous, and at the meetings of the 
Heptarchy he freely indulges his love of quota- 
tions, a pleasure he strictly denies himself in other 
surroundings, for fear of boring people. But 
everybody has a dim presumption that the Gen- 
eral knows a good deal more than most people are 
aware of, and this dim presumption is strength- 
ened by the very firm conviction that he is an 
exceedingly genial man and a "jolly good 
fellow." 

Mr. Ariens, I^it. D., "Rector" of the Gym- 
nasium (equivalent to Head-master of a Grammar 
School), is the most remarkable type even in this 
very remarkable set of men. He is highly un- 
conventional, and his boys adore him, while his 
old boys admire him, and the parents are his 
perennial debtors in gratitude He is unconven- 
tional in everything, — in his dress, in his wa}^ of 
living, in his opinions and judgments; but he 
parades none of these, reducing them to neither 
a whim nor a hobby. He passed some years in 
the Dutch Indies, travelled all over Europe, 
knows more of Greek, I^atin, and antiquities 
than anybody else, and is as thoroughly scientific 
as any University professor. But the Govern- 
ment will never give him a vacant chair, for his 
pedagogical powers surpass even his scientific 
abilities, and they cannot spare such men in such 
places. To some aristocratic people his noble 
simple-mindedness is downright appalling ; but 



30 Dutch Life 

when he goes about in dull, cold, wintry weather 
and visits the poor wretches in the slums, where 
nature and natural emotions and forms of speech 
are quite unconventional, he is duly appreciated. 
For he is not only a splendid gymnasii rector ; 
he is also a very charitable man, though he likes 
only one form of charity, that by which the rich 
man first educates himself into being the poor 
man's friend, and then only offers his sympathy 
and help — the charit)' which the one can give and 
the other take without either of them feeling de- 
graded by the act. He is not a public-body man, 
our "Rector," but his friends appreciate his keen, 
just judgment. They may disagree with him on 
some points, but a discussion with him is always 
interesting on account of his original, fresh 
method of thought, and instructive by reason of 
his very superior and universal knowledge. 

His best friend is Mr. Jacobs, a civil engineer. 
Dutch civil engineers are educated at Delft, at 
the Polytechnic School, after having passed 
their final examination at a " Higher Burgher 
School." Boys of sixteen or seventeen are not 
fit to digest sciences by the dozen, and, however, 
pleasant and convenient it may be to become a 
walking cyclopedia, a cyclopedia is not a living 
book, but a dead accumulation of dead knowledge, 
which may inform though it does not educate. 
Happily, the majority of Dutch engineers are 
saved by the Polytechnic School, where they 
have about the same liberty as undergraduates 



The Professional Classes 31 

at the Universities to go their own way. Educa- 
tionally, they are not so well equipped, attention 
only being paid to mental instruction, for the 
Director of a " Higher Burgher School " is a dif- 
ferent man from the Rector of a Gymnasium, 
while the system over which he presides is more 
or less incoherent, so far as educational considera- 
tions go. 

But if a civil engineer is a success he is gen- 
erally a big one. So is Mr. Jacobs. He is 
thoroughly well read, though his reading may be 
somewhat desultory. His splendid memory, as- 
sisted by a remarkably quick wit, allows him to 
feel interested in nearly everything — sociology, 
literature, art, music, theatre, sport, charity, 
municipal enterprise. If he is superficial, nobody 
notices it, for he is much too smart to show it. 
His general level-headedness makes him an inex- 
haustible source of admiration to Dr. Ariens, 
whose peer he is in kindness of heart. His man- 
ner is irreproachable ; he never loses his temper 
in discussion, and treats his opponents in such a 
quiet, courteous way that they are obviously 
sorry to disagree with him. His business capaci- 
ties are of the first rank; he makes as much 
money as he likes, and however crowded his life 
may be, he always finds time for more work. 
He is a member of the Town Council and a 
staunch supporter of Walraven's progressive 
plans. Walraven has certain misgivings about 
Jacobs' thoroughness, but he fully realises his 



32 Dutch Life 

friend's quick grasp of things. He may build 
bridges, irrigate whole districts, and drain 
marshes in Holland, open up mines in Spain, 
build docks in America, or hunt for petroleum in 
Russia ; he is always sure to succeed, and a fair 
profit for himself, at an}^ rate, is the invariable 
result of his exertions. He travels a great deal, 
knows everybody everywhere, and always turns 
up again in the old haunts, bristling with in- 
teresting information, visibl}^ enjoying his busy, 
full life, and not without a certain vanity, arising 
from the feeling that his fellow-citizens are rather 
proud of him. 

The last to come is Mr. Smits, President of the 
Court of Justice, a man of philosophical turn of 
mind, an ardent student of social problems, a fine 
lawyer, a first-rate speaker, a shrewd judge of 
men, and a tolerant and mild critic of their 
weaknesses. He also is a member of the Town 
Council, and, like Jacobs, a member of a munici- 
pal committee of which Walraven is the chairman. 
Their duties are the supervision and general 
management of the communal trade and indus- 
try, such as tramways, gas-works, water-supply, 
slaughter-houses, electrical supply, corn ex- 
change, public parks and public gardens, hot- 
houses and plantations, etc. Smits is also the 
chairman of two debating societies, one for work- 
men and the other for the better educated classes; 
but social problems are the chief topics discussed 
at both. These societies, he says, keep him well 



The Professional Classes 33 

in touch with the general drift of the popular 
mind ; as a fact, by his encouraging ways, he 
draws from the people what is in their thoughts 
and hearts, and very often succeeds in correcting 
wrong impressions and conceptions. He is also 
the Worshipful Master of the local Masonic lodge, 
" The Three Rings," so-called after the famous 
parable of religious tolerance in I^essing's noble 
drama, Nathayi der Weise. Dutch Freemasonry 
is not churchy as in England ; it is charitable, 
teaches ethics as distinct from, but not opposed 
to, religion, admits men of all creeds and of no 
creed whatever, and preaches tolerance all round ; 
but it fights indififerentism, apathy, or careless- 
ness on all matters affecting the material, intel- 
lectual, and psychical well-being of mankind. 

Smits feels very strongly on all these matters, 
and his enthusiasm is of a stajdng kind ; but 
the ancient device Stiaviter in modo has quite as 
much charm for him as its counterpart, Fortiter 
in re. The consequence is that superficial peo- 
ple take him for a Socialist because he neither 
prosecutes nor persecutes Socialists for the 
opinions they hold. Himself an agnostic, and 
lacking religious sentiment, he realises so well 
the supreme influence of religion on numberless 
people and the comfort they derive from it, that 
many consider him not nearly firm enough in his 
intercourse with Roman Catholics or " ortho- 
dox " Protestants, with whom, in fact, he fre- 
quently arranges political ' ' deals. ' ' For Smits 



34 Dutch Life 

is, if not the chairman, the most influential and 
active member of the I^iberal caucus ; and, being 
in favour of proportional representation, he insists 
that the other political parties shall have their 
fair number of Town Councillors. 

Such are the men who come together in this 
elegant and yet homely sitting-room ; each of 
them a leader in his profession, each of them 
coming in daily and close contact with all sorts 
and conditions of men and women in the town, 
and enabled by their wide and unbiassed views of 
humanity and human affairs to control them and 
to divert the common energies into wise paths. 
The ' ' Heptarchy ' ' has, of course, no legal 
standing as such, but from their conversations 
one understands the influence which its members 
wield by their intellectual and moral superiority. 
They conspire in no way to attain certain ends, 
but discuss things as intimately as only brothers 
or man and wife can discuss them, in the genial 
intimacy of their unselfish friendship. They 
generally agree on the lines to be taken in certain 
matters, but even if they fail to agree, this does 
not prevent them from acting according to their 
own lights, still respecting each other's convic- 
tions and preferences. And not only local topics 
are discussed in the meetings of the '' Hept- 
archy," but politics, art, trade, and science, for- 
eign and Dutch, come within their scope ; for 
their intellectual outlook, like their sympathies, 
is universal. 



The Professional Classes 35 

Towards eleven o'clock we take leave of each 
other, Walraven, Hendriks, and ourselves go to 
the ball at the house of the Commissaris der 
Koningin (Queen's Commissioner), the I^ord- 
lyieutenant of the Count)^, Baron Alma van 
Strae. Baron and Baroness Alma live in a 
palatial mansion, and we find the huge reception 
and drawing rooms full of a gay crowd of young 
folk. The rooms are beautifully decorated : there 
is a profusion of flowers and palms in the halls 
and on the stairs ; and a host of footmen, in 
bright-buttoned, buff-coloured livery coats, short 
trousers, and white stockings, move quietly 
about, betrajdng the well-trained instincts of 
hereditary lackej^dom. There are county coun- 
cillors, judges, ofiicers of army and navy, 
bankers, merchants, manufacturers, town coun- 
cillors, the mayor and town clerk, the president 
and some members of the Chamber of Com- 
merce, and committee-men of orphanages and 
homes for old people. All have brought their 
wives, daughters, and sons to do the dancing, 
for though they occasionally join themselves, 
they prefer to indulge in a quiet game of 
whist or to settle down in Baron Alma's smoking 
and billiard room for a cigar. 

These social functions, however, are much the 
same in Holland as in other countries. Etiquette 
ma}'- differ in small details, but on the whole the 
world of societj'- lives the same life, cultivates the 
same interests, and amuses or bores itself in much 



36 Dutch Life 

the same fashion. It is tout comme chez nous in 
this as in nearly everything else. 

On the whole, this elegant crowd shows a 
somewhat greater amount of deference towards 
professionals than towards oJB&cials. Doctors, 
lawj'^ers, and parsons are clearly highly esteemed; 
it is the victory of intellect in a fair field of en- 
counter. In The Hague the officials beat them, 
but not so much on account of their office as in 
consequence of the fact that so many are titled 
persons, highly connected and frequently well off. 
But after the great Revolution and the Napo- 
leonic times, officialdom lost its influence and 
social importance in Holland in consequence 
of the demolition of the oligarchic, patrician 
Republic ; and Clause 5 of the Netherlands Con- 
stitution, which declares that " Every Nether- 
lander may be appointed to every public office," 
is a very real and true description of the actual, 
visible facts of social life. 




CHAPTER IV 



run POSITION OF women 

THE Dutchwoman, generally speaking, is not 
the " new woman," in the sense of taking 
any very definite part in the politics of the 
country. Neither does she interest herself in, 
nor interfere in, ecclesiastical matters. Dutchmen 
have not a very high opinion of the mental and 
administrative qualities of their womenfolk out- 
side of what is considered their sphere, but for all 
that the women of the upper class are certainly 
more clever than the men, but as they do not 
take any practical part in the questions which are 
^' burning," as far as any question does burn in 
this land of dampness, their interest is academic 
rather than real. The wives of the small shop- 
keeper, the artisan, and the peasant take much 
the same place as women of these classes in other 
European countries. They are kind mothers, 
thrifty housewives, very fond of their " man," 
not averse to the fascinations of dress, and in their 
persons and houses extremely trim and tidy, while 
the poorest quarters of the large towns are, com- 
pared with the slums of L,ondon, Manchester, 
37 



38 Dutch Life 

and Liverpool, pictures of neatness. It is true 
that windows are seldom opened, for no Dutch 
window opens at the top, and so in passing by an 
open door in the poor quarters of a town one gets 
a whiff of an inside atmosphere which baffles 
description ; but the inside of the house is 
" tidy," and one can see the gleam of polished 
things, telling of repeated rubbings, scrubbings, 
and scourings. In fact, cleanliness in Holland 
has become almost a disease, and scrubbing and 
banging go on from morning until night both 
outside and inside a house. 

Probably the abundant supply of water ac- 
counts for the universal washing, for, not content 
with washing everything insidie a house, they 
wash the outside too, and even the bark of any 
trees which happen to lie within the zone of 
operations. The plinths and bricks of the houses 
are scrubbed as far as the arms can reach or a 
little hand-squirt can carry water. In cottages 
both in town and country there is the same 
cleanliness, but the people stop short of washing 
themselves, and the bath among the poorer classes 
is practically unknown. People of this kind may 
not have had one for thirty or forty years, and 
will receive the idea with derision and look on the 
practice as a " fad," while the case of many 
animals is seriously cited as an argument that it 
is quite unnecessary. A doctor told me once of 
a rich old patient of the farming class near 
Utrecht who, on being ordered a bath, said: 



The Position of Women 39 

"Any amount of physic, but a bath — never!" 
On the principle that you cannot do everything, 
personal cleanliness is apt to go to the wall, and 
the energies of the Dutchwomen of the lower 
middle and the poorer classes are concentrated 
on washing everything iyianimate^ even the brick 
footpath before the houses, which accounts for 
the clean appearance of the Dutch streets in 
town and country. Even a heavy downpour of 
rain does not interfere with the housewife's or 
servant's weekly practice, and you will see ser- 
vants holding up umbrellas while they wash the 
fronts of the houses. This excessive cleanliness, 
together with the other household duties of 
mother and wife, fills up the ordinary day, and a 
newspaper or book is seldom seen in their hands. 
Passing on to the middle class, we find the 
mistress's time largely taken up with directing 
the servants and bargaining with the tradesmen, 
who in many cases bring their goods round from 
house to house. The lady of the house takes 
care to lock up everything after the supplies for 
the day have been given out, and the little 
basket full of keys which she carries about with 
her is a study in itself. Even in the upper class 
this locking up is a general practice, for very few 
people keep a housekeeper. The mistress also 
takes care of the " pot." This is an ingenious 
but objectionable device to make a guest pay for 
his dinner. On leaving a house after dining you 
give one of the servants a florin, and all the 



40 Dutch Life 

money so collected is put into a box, and at certain 
times is divided between the servants, so that a 
servant on applying for a situation asks what is 
the value of the " pot " in the year. There are 
signs of this practice of feeing servants after a 
dinner being done away with, for it spoils the idea 
of hospitality, and one's host on bidding you 
' ' Good-bye ' ' resorts to many little artifices in 
order not to see that you do fee his servant, 
added to which you are very likely to shake 
hands with him with the florin in your hand, 
which you have been furtively trying to transfer 
to the left hand from the right, and very often 
the guest drops the wretched coin in his efforts 
to give it unseen. It is to be hoped that the 
ladies of Holland will succeed in abolishing a 
custom which is disagreeable alike to entertainer 
and entertained. 

The women of the upper middle class are cer- 
tainly much better educated than their English 
sisters. They always can speak another lan- 
guage than their own, and very often two, 
French and English now being common, while a 
few add German and a little Italian, but most of 
them read German, if they do not speak it. French 
is universal, however, for the French novel is far 
more to the taste than the more sober English 
book. The number and quality of these French 
books read by the Dutch young lady are enough 
to astonish and probably shock an English girl, 
who reads often with difl&culty the safe " Daudet " 



The Position of Women 41 

{Sapho excepted), but the young Dutchwoman 
knows of no Index Expurgatorius, and reads what 
she likes. At the same time, the classics of Eng- 
land and Germany are very generally read and 
valued, and many a Dutchwoman could pass a 
better examination on the text and meaning of 
Shakespeare than the Englishwoman, whose 
knowledge is too often limited to memories of the 
Cambridge texts of the great poets used in schools. 
But, well educated as the Dutchwoman un- 
doubtedly is, there is nothing about her of the 
" blue-stocking," and she does not impress you 
as being clever until a long acquaintance has 
brought out her many-sided knowledge. The 
great pity is that her education leads to so little, 
for there are very few channels into which a 
Dutchwoman can direct her knowledge. Politics 
turn for the most part on differences in religious 
questions, which are abstruse and dry to the 
feminine mind, and of practical political life she 
sees nothing. There is no " terrace," no Prim- 
rose I^eague, no canvassing, no political salon, no 
excitement about elections ; and, added to these 
negatives, women get snubbed if they venture 
opinions on political matters, and young people 
generally look upon politics et hoc genus omne as 
a bore, and the names of great statesmen at the 
helm of affairs are frequently not even known by 
the younger generation. I^ittle interest is also 
taken in the army and navy, owing to the fact 
that there is so little active service in the former 



42 Dutch Life 

and to the smallness of the latter ; and woman 
does not care much about orders, regulations, 
manoeuvres, and comparative strength ; — she 
wants " heroes," and to know what they have 
done, and does not consider what the " services " 
might, could, or should do. The officers who 
have served in India and have seen active service 
rank high in her estimation, but as these are few, 
beyond the affection bestowed upon soldier hus^ 
band, brother, or lover, which is chiefly displayed 
in anxiety lest they should be sent to do garrison 
duty in some town where social advantages are 
small or nil, there is no great interest taken in 
army affairs by the Dutchwoman. As to the 
navy, they philosophically acquiesce in the fact 
that as a ship must sail on the water they must 
patiently bear the necessary separation from their 
sailor friends. 

When we come to things ecclesiastical, there 
is still less interest taken in the Church. The 
Roman Catholic Church is outside the question, 
for the position of the laity there has been well 
described as " kneeling in front of the altar, sit- 
ting under the pulpit, and putting one's hand in 
one's pocket without demur when money is re- 
quired." The Protestant laity, however, do not 
take any great interest in the National Church, 
and while there are deaconesses devoted to nurs- 
ing, and all good works, as there are sosurs de 
chariti in the Roman communion, yet the rank 
and file of Dutchwomen do not trouble about 



The Position of Women 43 

their church beyond attending it occasionally — 
one may say, very occasionally. There is but 
little brightness in the services of the Reformed 
Church, — no ritual, no scope for artistic work, 
no curates, and above and beyond all, no career 
in the Church for the clergy. At the best, they 
may get sent to one of the large towns, but 
the life is the same as in the village for the wife 
of the " domine," as the Dutch pastor is called. 
And if the " domines" move about in fear and 
trembling because of the argus-eyes and often 
Midas-like ears of the deacons, their wives must 
be still more discreet. One " domine " has been 
known to brave public opinion and ride a bicycle, 
but for a mother in Israel to do the like would 
scandalise all good members of the Reformed 
Church. The wives of the clergy, however, do 
good and useful work, and probably are more real 
helpmeets to their husbands than women in any 
other class of what may be called official life, but 
they take no sort of lead in parochial or eccle- 
siastical matters. They do not direct the femi- 
nine influences which do work in the parish, but 
rather take their place as one of them. If, there- 
fore, a woman marries a clergyman, she does so 
for love of the man and his work's sake ; there 
cannot be a tinge of ambition as to the career of 
her husband, for there are no such things as 
comfortable rectories and prospective deaneries 
or bishoprics, with their consequent influence and 
power. Nothing but love of the man brings the 



44 Dutch Life 

" domine " a wife, and she knows that there will 
be inquisitorial eyes and not too kind speeches 
about her behaviour from the " faithful," while 
the great people, to their loss, will ignore her 
socially in much the same way as Queen Eliza- 
beth did the wives of the bishops in her day. 

Passing to lighter subjects, Dutch girls are now 
breaking loose from the stiffness and espionage 
in which their mothers were brought up, and this 
is without doubt in a large measure due to the 
introduction of sport. Tennis, hockey, golf, 
and more especially bicycling, have conferred, by 
the force of circumstances, a freedom which 
strength of argument, entreaty, and tears failed 
to effect. Mothers and chaperones do not, as a 
rule, bicycle, and play tennis and golf ; they 
cannot always go to club meetings, even to yawn 
through the sets, and so the young people plaj'- 
by themselves, and there are fast growing a lack 
of restraint and a healthy freedom of intercourse 
which are gravely deprecated by grandmammas, 
winked at by mothers, but enjoyed to the full by 
daughters. But quidnuncs prophesy, however, 
that people will not marry as early as of yore, for 
young people get to know one another too well 
by unrestricted intercourse, and the halo with 
which each sex surrounds the other is dispelled. 
Be this as it may, no Dutch girl wishes to go back 
to the old days when she could go nowhere alone. 

Yet, however much men like to have women as 
companions in games, they are not so willing to 



The Position of Women 45 

allow them mucli to say in matters which the 
masculine mind considers its own province ; for 
the fact is that most Dutchmen consider women 
inferiors, and when there is a question of admit- 
tance into literary or artistic circles and clubs, 
women's work has to be of an undeniably high 
order. There are one or two ladies' clubs, but 
they do not at present flourish, there being so few 
public platforms on which women can meet, and 
so the " social grade " determines women's rela- 
tive position by women's votes, and there is small 
chance of crossing the Rubicon then. There is 
no doubt, however, that women in Holland are 
slowly winning their way to greater independ- 
ence of life. They are filling posts in public 
ofiices; they are going to the universities ; they 
are studying medicine and qualifying as doctors ; 
and no doubt they will in time compel men to 
acknowledge their claims to live an independent 
life rather than a dependent one. 

Besides, in Holland, as in other countries, the 
proportion between the sexes is unequal, and so 
necessity will force open doors of usefulness 
hitherto closed to women. 

The Dutchwoman dresses expensively in all 
the towns, and generally well. The toilettes are 
mostly of a German model, which suits the build 
of the Dutchwoman better than the fashions of 
Paris. Rarely, however, do women dress in that 
simple style in vogue in English morning dress, 
and a Dutch town or seaside resort is filled in the 



46 Dutch Life 

mornings with, gay toilettes more fitted for the 
Row or the Boulevard. Kven when bicycling, 
the majority do not dress very simply. 

Holland has always been noted for the variety 
and quaintness of its provincial and even com- 
munal costumes, and these may all still be seen, 
though they are dying out slowly. In some, 
and in fact many cases, a modern bonnet is 
worn over a beautiful gold or silver headpiece, 
fringed with lace, but ancient and modern do not 
in such cases harmonise. Of the distinctly pro- 
vincial costumes, that of Friesland is generally 
considered the prettiest, but as illustrations are 
given of them all in a later chapter, it must be 
left to the reader to decide the point for himself. 
The fisherfolk, more than any other, retain their 
distinctive dress, although even among them 
some of the children are habited - according to 
modern ideas, and certainly when the women are 
doomed to wear fourteen or sixteen skirts, which 
has the effect of making them liable to pulmonary 
complaints, it is surprising that modern fashions 
are not more generally adopted. The plea for 
modernity in respect to Dutch national costumes 
is considered rank heresy among artists, but the 
figures look better in a picture and at a distance 
than in everyday life, added to which the custom 
of cutting off or hiding the hair, which some of 
the head-dresses compel, is not one to be encour- 
aged; and it is a wonder that woman, who knows 
as a rule her charms, has for so long consented to 




DUTCH FISHER-GIRLS 



The Position of Women 47 

be deprived of one of the chief ones. But in 
Holland, as in all countries where education is 
spreading, cosmopolitanism in dress is increasing, 
and the picturesque tends to give place to the 
convenient and in many cases the healthy. 

Marriage, with all its preliminaries, is woman's 
triumph, and in Holland she makes the most of 
it. The manner of seeking a wife and proposing 
is no doubt the same in the Netherlands as in 
other European countries, with the exception of 
France, but, once accepted, the happy man must 
resign himself to the accustomed routine. First 
of all, he exchanges rings, so that a man who is 
engaged or married betrays the fact as well as a 
woman by a plain gold ring worn on the third 
finger. A girl, therefore, has a better chance 
against those who were ' ' deceivers ever ' ' than 
in a country where no such outward and visible 
sign exists. The engagement is announced by 
cards being sent out, countersigned by the parents 
on both sides, and a day is fixed for receiving the 
congratulations. The betrothed are then con- 
sidered almost married. Engagements are, of 
course, frequently broken off, but such a thing as 
an action for ' ' breach of promise ' ' is impossible, 
and would be considered most mercenary and 
mean. As a rule, engagements are not long, and 
as soon as the wedding-day is agreed upon, the 
preceding fortnight is filled with parties of 
various kinds, while there is another great recep- 
tion just before the wedding-day, in which, as 



48 Dutch Life 

before, the bride and bridegroom have to stand 
for hours receiving the congratulations of their 
friends. Every now and then they will snatch a 
chance to sit down, but another arrival brings 
them again to their feet, weary but smiling. On 
the wedding morning the happy couple drive to 
the Town Hall ; for all marriages must first be 
celebrated by the civil authorities, and so they 
appear before their Burgomaster, who saj'-s some- 
thing appropriate, and they make their vows and 
sign the papers, after which, if they desire it, 
there is a service at the church which is called a 
" Benediction," at which they are blessed, and 
have to listen to a long sermon, at the close of 
which a Bible is given them. This sermon is not 
the least of the trying experiences, for frequently 
many of the older members of the party are re- 
duced to tears by allusions to former members of 
the two families, and all sorts of subjects alien 
to the particular service are introduced. At a 
recent wedding, known to me, the guests had to 
listen to a long address in which the Transvaal 
War and the Paris Exhibition were commented 
upon. Not only so, but no fewer than three 
collections are taken at the service, so that peo- 
ple who desire to enter into the holy estate of 
matrimony must not lack fortitude when they 
have made up their minds to it. 

But, once married, a Dutch home is indeed 
" Home, sweet home," as is the case more or less 
in all the northern countries, "where the change- 



The Position of Women 49 

ful climate compels people to live a great deal 
within four walls. Dutch fathers are kind, and 
the mothers are indulgent, and, among the poorer 
classes especially, family affection is very great. 
Most beautiful and touching instances might be 
abundantly quoted of family devotion, and a so- 
ciety like that for the " prevention of cruelty to 
children ' ' would find little to do in Holland. 




CHAPTER V 
thb; workman of the; towns 

THE condition of the Dutch urban working 
classes is by no means an enviable one. 
Granting that wages are much higher than 
half a century ago, when bread cost fivepence- 
halfpenny the loaf as against three halfpence to- 
day, and when clothes and furniture cost fifty 
per cent, more than now, the average working- 
man cannot be otherwise described than as dis- 
tinctly poor when compared with his English 
colleague. Yet it would be misleading to judge 
exclusively by the scale of wages, and against 
making comparisons of the kind the reader should 
at once be warned. The fact is that there are 
very wide divergences of condition amongst the 
working classes of Holland. A carpenter or a 
blacksmith earning from ^i to /"i los. in weekly 
wages all the year round will rank, if sober 
and well-behaved, as a comparatively well-to-do 
workman. On the other hand, a bricklayer or 
a painter, whose work in winter is very uncer- 
tain, and who earns, maybe, a bare ^i a week 
during the nine months of the year wherein he 
50 



The Workman of the Towns 51 

can find work, is a poor workman at the best, and 
his condition is greatly to be deplored. More 
pitiable still, however, is the case of working- 
class families in some of the manufacturing towns, 
where wages are still lower, and where an even 
tolerable standard of life cannot be maintained 
unless mother and children take their place in 
the factory side by side with the head of the 
household as regular wage- earners. 

For, as labour is cheap and families are numer 
ous in Holland, as soon as the boys and girls have 
reached the sacramental age of twelve, at which 
Dutch law allows them to work twelve hours a 
day, they leave school, and enter the factory and 
workshop. 

It is no joke for these children, who have to 
leave their little beds, frequently under the tiles, 
at 5 or 6 A.M., or earlier, summer and winter, to 
gulp down some hot cofiee, or what is conve- 
niently called so, to swallow a huge piece of the 
well-known Dutch roggebrood, or rye-bread, and 
then to hurry, in their wooden shoes, through 
the quiet streets of the town to their place of 
work. 

Sometimes they have time to return home at 8 
or 8.30 A.M. for a second hurried " breakfast," 
which, as often as not, is their first, for many of 
them start the day's work on an empty stomach. 
Those who cannot run home and back in the 
half-hour usually allowed for the first sckaft, 
or meal-time, take their bread-and-butter with 



52 Dutch Life 

them in a cotton or linen bag, and their milk-and. 
water or coffee in a tin, and so shift as well as 
they can. Dinner-time, as a rule, finds the whole 
family united from about twelve until one o'clock 
or half-past in the kitchen at home. This kitchen 
is, of course, used for cooking, washing, dwelling, 
and sleeping purposes. The walls are white- 
washed, and the floor consists of flagstones. 
Of luxury, there is none; of comfort, little. Gen- 
erally, the fare of the day is potatoes, with some 
other vegetable — carrots, turnips, cabbage, or 
beans. A piece of bacon, rarely beef, is sometimes 
added ; while mutton is hardly ever eaten in 
Holland, unless by very poor people. Fish is too 
expensive for most of them, except fried kippers 
or bloaters. If there is time over, and the house 
has a little garden attached to it, the children 
help by watering the vegetables growing there, 
should it be summer-time, or by making them- 
selves generally useful. But at i or 1.30 they 
have to be back at the workshop, and until 7 p.m. 
the drudgery goes on again. On Saturday eve- 
ning the boy brings his sixpence, or whatever his 
trifling wages may be, to his mother. Rent and 
the club-money for illness and funeral expenses 
must be at hand when the collectors call either 
on Sunday or Monday morning. As a rule, 
though the exceptions are numerous enough, the 
father also brings his whole pay with him ; but 
drink is the curse — a decreasing curse, it may be, 
but still a curse — of many a workman's family, 



The Workman of the Towns 53 

and in such cases the inroads it makes in the 
domestic budget are very serious. 

So the boys grow up — in a busy, monotonous 
life — until they are called upon to subject them- 
selves to compulsory military service. Before 
they become recruits, they have usually joined 
various societies — debating, theatrical, social, 
political, or other. Arnold Toynbee has a good 
many admirers and followers in Holland, who do 
yeoman's work after his spirit, and bring bright, 
healthy pleasure into the lives of these youthful 
toilers. Divines of all denominations, Protestant 
and Catholic, have also their ' ' At homes ' ' and 
their ' ' Congregations, ' ' and innocent amusement 
is not unseldom mixed with religious teaching at 
their meetings. In this way, too, a helpful, re- 
straining influence is exerted upon youth. And 
gradually the boy becomes a young man, associat- 
ing with other young men, and, like his wealthier 
neighbours, discussing the world's affairs, dream- 
ing of drastic reforms, and thinking less and less 
of the dreary home, where father and mother, 
grown old before their time, are little more 
than the people with whom he boards, and 
who take the whole or part of his wages, 
allowing him some modest pocket-money for 
himself. 

In the meantime his sisters have been living 
with some middle-class family, starting as errand- 
girls, being afterwards promoted to the impor- 
tant position of kindermeid, or children's maid, 



54 Dutch Life 

though all the time sleeping out, which means 
that before and after having toiled a whole day 
for strangers, they do part of the housework for 
their mothers at home. After some time, how- 
ever, they find employment as housemaids, or in 
other domestic positions. If they have the good 
fortune to find considerate yet strict and con- 
scientious mistresses, the best time of their life 
now begins ; there is no exhaustion from work, 
yet good food, good lodging, and kind treament. 
Should they care to cultivate the fine art of 
cooking, they get instruction in that line, and are 
in most cases allowed to work independently, 
and even, when reliable and trustworthy, to do 
the buying of vegetables, etc. , by themselves in 
the market-places, which all Dutch towns boast 
of, and in which the produce of the land is oflfered 
for sale in abundance and appetising freshness. 
All this tends to teach a servant-girl how to use 
alike her eyes, hands, and brain, and to educate 
her into a thrifty, industrious, and tidy work- 
man's wife, who will know how to make both 
ends meet, however short her resources may 
be. This is one of the reasons why so many 
Dutch workmen's homes, notwithstanding the 
low wages, have an appearance of snug prosper- 
ity — the women there have learned how to make 
a little go a long way. 

And how about their futiire husbands ? Have 
they, too, learned their trade ? Perhaps; if they 
are particularly strong, shrewd, industrious, and 



The Workman of the Towns 55 

persevering, though technical education {am- 
bachtsonderwys) is much a thing of the future in 
Holland. 

In the general course of life a boy goes to a 
trade which offers him the highest wages. If he 
can begin by earning eightpence a week, he will 
not go elsewhere to earn sixpence if the wear and 
tear of shoes and clothes is the same in both 
cases, although the sixpenny occupation may 
perhaps be better suited to his tastes, ability, and 
general aptitude. To his mother the extra two 
pence are a consideration ; they may cover some 
weekly contribution to a necessary fund. Run- 
ning errands is his first work, until accidentally 
some workman or some apprentice leaves the 
shop, in which case he is moved up, and a new 
boy has the errands to do. But now he must 
look out for himself ; his master is not over- 
anxious to let him learn all the ins and outs of 
the work, for as soon as his competitors hear that 
he has a very clever boy in his shop, he is sure 
to lose that boy, who is tempted away by the offer 
of better pay. Nor are the workmen greatlj^ in- 
clined to impart their little secrets, to explain 
this thing and that, and so help the young fellow 
on. Why should they ? Nobody did it for 
them; they got their qualifications by their own 
unaided exertions — let the boy do the same. 
Moreover, the baas or chief, does not like them 
to " waste their time" in that manner, and the 
baas is the dispenser of their bread and butter ; 



S6 Dutch Life 

so the Doy is, as a rule, regarded merely as a 
nuisance. 

There are workshops, first-class workshops, 
too, where no apprentices have been admitted for 
dozens of years, simply because the employers do 
not see their way to make an efficient agreement 
with the boys or their parents which would pre- 
vent them from letting a competitor enjoy the 
results of their technical instruction. One would 
not be astonished that in these circumstances 
all over Holland the want of technical schools 
is badly felt, and that agitation for their pro- 
vision is active. Only some twenty-four such 
schools exist at present ; the oldest, that at Am- 
sterdam, dates from 1861, and the youngest, that 
of Nymegen, was established in 1890. Partly 
municipal schools, partly schools built by the 
private effort of citizens, they all do their work 
well. It is only during the last few years that 
the nation has begun to ask whether technical 
education ought not to be taken up by the State. 
The Dutch like private enterprise in everything, 
and are always inclined to prefer it to State or 
municipal action ; but they have come to recog- 
nise that technical schools may be good schools, 
and may do good work on behalf of the much- 
needed improvement of handicraft, even though 
not private ventures, and that so far this branch 
of national education has not kept up with the 
times. 

The idea which will probably in the end gain 



The Workman of the Towns 57 

the day, is that the technical schools should be 
managed by the Town Councils and subsidised by 
the State, who in return would receive the right 
of supervision and inspection, and of laying down 
general rules for their curricula. For the present, 
however, there is no lav/ settling the question, 
and the apprentices are the sufferers by the 
lack, since the employers shrink from employing 
their means, time, and knowledge on behalf of 
unscrupulous competitors. 

In general the life of an urban workingman is 
a constant struggle against poverty and sickness. 
Children come plentifully, rather too much so for 
the inelastic possibilities of their parents' wages. 
The young v/ife does not get stronger by frequent 
confinements; and the fare is bound to get less 
nourishing as the mouths round the domestic 
board increase — always simple, it often becomes 
insufl&cient. The mother, working hard already, 
has to work harder still and to do laundry work 
at home or go out as a charwoman, in order to 
increase the modest income. In industrial centres 
women frequently work in the factories as well, 
though the law does at least protect them against 
too long hours and premature work after confine- 
ment. 

Thanks to the Dutch thrift, burial funds and 
sickness funds come promptly to the rescue when 
death lays his iron grip on the wasted form of the 
poor town-bred babies, when illness saps the man's 
power to earn his usual wages, and the family's 



58 Dutch Life 

income is for the time cut oflF. Of these benefit 
funds there are about 450 in Holland, distributed 
amongst some 150 towns. Half of them are 
burial funds, and half mixed burial and sick- 
ness funds ; their members number about two 
millions ; yet, although they certainly do much 
to prevent extreme poverty, they do it in a man- 
ner which in many cases is little short of a scan- 
dal. Their legal status is rather uncertain, and 
in consequence many managers do as they like, 
and make a good thing for themselves out of their 
duty to the poor. Too often these managers are 
supreme controllers of the funds, and the mem- 
bers have no influence whatever. In many cases 
the only official the latter know is the collector, 
who calls at their houses for the weekly contribu- 
tions. This oflBcial frequently resorts to question- 
able tricks for extorting money from the poor 
helpless members, who simplj^ and confidently 
pay what they are told to pay — small sums, of 
course, a few cents or pence, it may be, but still 
' ' adding up " in the long run — and when sorrow 
and death enter their humble dwellings they are 
easily imposed upon by cool scoundrels, who 
trade on their disinclination to quarrel about 
money when there is a corpse in the house. 

Another danger of the irregular condition of 
these funds lies in the fact that outsiders may take 
out policies on the lives of certain families. A 
few years ago the country was shocked by the 
alarming story of a woman who had poisoned a 



The Workman of the Towns 59 

series of persons merely to be able to get the 
funeral expenses paid to herself, while many a 
wretched little baby has in this manner been the 
horrible investment of heartless neighbours, who, 
knowing the poor thing was dying, took out 
policies for its funeral. For medical examina- 
tion is not required for these beautifully managed 
associations. Their premiums are, however, so 
high that this detail does not materially affect 
their sound jfinancial position; and this being the 
case, it cannot be denied that the absence of such 
examinations considerably increases their general 
utility for the labouring classes. 

The clubs for preventing financial loss by illness 
do require a medical examination. They number 
in Holland nearly 700, distributed in over 300 
towns. Some allow a fixed sum of money during 
illness, others provide doctor and medicines, 
others do both. But the same objections and 
grievances which workmen entertain against 
burial funds apply likewise to these latter clubs. 
The curious thing is that, instead of grumbling, 
the workman does not make up his mind to 
mend matters by insisting on having a share in 
the management of societies and funds to which 
he has contributed so large a part of his earn- 
ings. As yet, however, the Dutch labouring 
classes have not found the man who is able to 
organise them for this or other purposes. They 
have able advocates, eloquent, passionate re- 
formers, straightforward, honest friends, but the 



6o Dutch Life 

work of these is more destructive criticism than 
constructive organisation. Where organisation 
exists, it is political, social, religious, but not 
industrial — local, but not universal, and it often 
has the bitter suggestion of charity. On the 
other hand, the poor fellows have so often been 
imposed upon that they feel very little confidence 
in each other and in the wealthier classes who 
profess deep interest in their woes and sorrows. 
There are no very large industrial centres in Hol- 
land ; the wages are so low that most workmen 
are obliged to find supplementary incomes, either 
by doing overtime, or by doing odd jobs after 
the regular day's work is over. Hence there 
is not much time or energy left for the com- 
mon cause. Some great employers, like Mr. 
J. C. van Marken, of Delft, and Messrs. 
Stork Brothers of Hengeloo, have organisations 
of their own, by which important ameliorations 
are obtained ; but smaller employers hear the 
labour leaders constantly deprecating such efforts 
and preaching the blessings of Social Democracy 
as the true panacea, so they do not see why they 
should put themselves to any inconvenience or 
expense for the sake of earning abuse and ingrati- 
tude. 

Moreover, manj'- of these employers adhere to 
the obsolete maxim of the Manchester economists, 
that labour is merely a sort of merchandise, of 
which the workman keeps a certain stock-in- 
trade, and that the capitalist's simple task, as a 



The Workman of the Towns 6i 

man of business, is to buy that labour as cheaply 
as possible, and that he has done with the seller 
as soon as his stock-in-trade is exhausted. Hap- 
pily, a good many others understand now that in 
the long run this ridiculous theory is quite as 
bad for the State as killing was for the fowl 
which laid the golden eggs. 

At all events, the feelings of the workman for 
his "patroon, ' ' as the old name still in use calls the 
employer, are none of the kindest. ' ' Sweating ' ' 
is a much less common occurrence in Holland 
than it was some twenty years ago, but while it 
would be mere demagogic clap-trap to speak of 
the remorseless exhaustion of labour by capital, 
there is nevertheless room enough for the cultiva- 
tion of greater amenity between the two. And 
so it will remain for some time to come. Social 
legislation may do a great deal in the course of 
time, but it cannot do everything, and at best it 
must follow the awakening of the popular con- 
science. Hence progress must be made step by 
step, for nothing is so menacing to the stability 
of the social fabric as sudden changes, and a wise 
statesman prefers to let everyone of his acts do its 
own work, and produce its own consequences, 
before he risks the next move. The disintegra- 
tion of social life is much worse than social misery, 
for disintegration makes misery universal, and 
throws innumerable obstacles in the way towards 
restoration. 

And, however much the Dutch understand the 



62 



Dutch Life 



workman's feelings and position, however much 
they all long to see the latter improved, they also 
hav; learned enough of social and political history 
to know that for the community in general the 
only wise and safe principle of action is progress 
by degrees — evolution, not revolution. 




CHAPTER VI 
'Ph:r canai^ and their popui,ation 

WHEN Drusus a few years before the com- 
mencement of our era excavated the 
Yssel canal, and thus gave a new arm to the 
Rhine, he began a process of canalisation in 
the Frisian and Batavian provinces which has 
been going on more or less ever since. To the 
foreigner Holland or the Northern Netherlands 
must always appear a land of dykes and canals, 
the one not more important for protection than 
the other as an artery of communication, spread- 
ing commerce and supporting national life. Na- 
poleon, with naive comprehensiveness, called 
Holland the alluvion of French rivers. Dutch 
patriots declare with legitimate pride, " God 
gave us the sea, but we made the shore, ' ' and no 
one who has seen the artificial barrier that guards 
the mainland from the Hook to the Texel, will 
disparage their achievement or scoff at their 
pretensions. 

The sea-dyke saves Holland from the Northern 
Ocean, sombre and grey in its most genial mood, 
menacing and stormy for the long winter of our 
63 



64 Dutch Life 

Northern Hemisphere ; but it is to the inland 
dykes that protect the low-lying polders that 
Holland owes her prosperity and the sources of 
wealth which have made her inhabitants a nation. 
The original character of the country, a marsh- 
land intersected by the numerous channels of the 
Rhine and the Meuse, rendered it imperative that 
the system of dykes should be accompanied by a 
brother system of canals. The over-abundant 
waters had not merely to be arrested, they had to 
be confined and led off into prepared channels. 
In this manner also they were made to serve the 
purposes of man. Highroads across swamps were 
either impracticable or too costly; but canals fur- 
nished a sure and convenient means of transport 
and communication. 

At the same time they did not imperil the 
security of the country. Roads on causeways or 
reared on sunken piles would have opened the 
door to an invader, but the canals provided an 
additional weapon of defence, for the opening of 
the dj'^kes sufl&ced to turn the country again into 
its primeval state of marshland. The occasion 
on which this measure alone saved Holland dur- 
ing the French invasion of 1670 is a well-known 
passage in history, and the hopes of the Dutch 
in resisting the attack of any powerful aggressor 
would centre in the same measure of defence, 
which is the submerging of the country, practi- 
cally speaking, under the waters of the canals 
and rivers. There exists a popular belief that 



The Canals and their Population 65 

there is at Amsterdam one master key, a turn of 
which would let loose the waters over the land, 
but whether it is well founded or not no one 
except a very few ofl&cials can say. 

Pending any unfortunate necessity for breaking 
through the dykes and letting loose the waters, 
it may be observed in passing that the eflfectual 
maintenance of the dykes is a constant anxiety, 
and entails strenuous exertions. They stand in 
need of repeated repairing, and it is computed 
that they are completely reconstructed in the 
course of every four or five years. A sum of 
nearly a million sterling is spent annually on the 
work. A large and specially trained staff of 
engineers are in unceasing harness, a numerous 
band of dj'ke-watchers are constantly on the look- 
out, and when they raise the shout, ' ' Come out ! 
come out! " not a man, woman, or child must 
hold back from the summons to strengthen the 
weak points through which threatens to pass the 
flood that would overwhelm the land. It is a 
constant struggle with nature, in which the vic- 
tor}^ rests with man. As the dyke is the bulwark 
of Dutch prosperity in peace, it might be con- 
verted into the ally of despairing patriotism in 
war. 

There are marked differences among the canals. 
The two largest and best-known canals, the North 
Canal and the North Sea Canal, are passages to 
the ocean for the largest ships, and specially in- 
tended to benefit the trade of Amsterdam. The 



66 Dutch Life 

North. Canal was made in 1819-25, soon after the 
restoration of the House of Orange, with an out- 
let at Helder, near the mouth of the Texel. It 
has a breadth of between 40 and 50 yards, a 
length of 50 miles, and a depth of 20 feet, which 
was then thought ample. After forty years' use 
this canal was found inadequate from every point 
of view. It was accordingly decided to construct 
a new canal direct from Amsterdam to Ymuiden 
across the narrowest strip of Holland. Although 
the Y was utilised, the labour on this canal was 
immense, and occupied a period of eleven j'ears, 
being finally thrown open to navigation in 1877. 
In length it is under 16 miles, but its average 
breadth is 100 yards, and the depth varies from 
23 to 27 feet. Consequently the largest ships 
from America or the Indies can reach the wharves 
of Amsterdam as easily as if it were a port on the 
sea-coast. Leaving aside the sea-passages that 
have been canalised among the islands of Zeeland, 
the remaining canals are inland waterways serv- 
ing as the principal highways of the country, 
giving one part of the country access to the other, 
and especially serving as approaches or lanes to 
the great rivers Meuse and Rhine. 

The interesting canal population of Holland is, 
of course, to be found on these canals, which are 
traversed in unceasing flow from year's end to 
year's end by the tjalks, or national barges. On 
these boats, which more resemble a lugger than a 
barge, they navigate not only the canals of their 



The Canals and their Population 67 

own countrj^ but the Rhine up to Coblentz, and 
even above that place. It has been computed that 
Germany imports half its food-supply through 
Rotterdam, and much of this is borne to its 
destined markets on tjalks. The William Canal 
connects Bois-le-Duc with I^imburg, and saves 
the great bend of the Meuse. The Yssel connects 
with the Drenthe, the Orange and the Reitdiep 
canals, which convey to the Rhine the produce 
of remote Groningen and Friesland. The Rhine 
represents the destination of the bulk of the per- 
manent canal population of Holland, whose float- 
ing habitations furnish one of the most interesting 
sights to be met with on the waters of the country, 
but which represent one of the secret phases of 
the people's life, into which few tourists or visit- 
ors have the opportunity of peering. 

The canal population of Holland is fixed on a 
moderate computation at 50,000 persons. For 
this number of persons the barge represents the 
only fixed home, and the year passes in ceaseless 
movement across the inland waters of the country 
or on the great German river, excepting for the 
brief interval when the canals are frozen over in 
the depth of winter. Even during these periods 
of enforced idleness the barge does not the less 
continue to be their home, for the simple reason 
that the canal population possesses no other. 
Their whole life for generations, the bringing up 
and education of the children, the years of toil 
from youth to old age, are passed on these barges, 



68 Dutch Life 

which, varying in size and still more in condition, 
are as closely identified with the name of home 
in their owners' minds as if they were built of 
brick and stone on firm land. The ambition of 
the youth who tugs at the rope is to possess a 
tjalk of his own, and he diligently looks out for 
the maiden whose dowry will assist him, with his 
own savings, to make the purchase. This he 
may hope to procure for five or six hundred 
gulden, if he will be content with one of limited 
dimensions, and somewhat marked by time. 
When a family comes he will want a larger and 
more commodious boat, but by that time the 
profits which his first tjalk will have earned as a 
carrier will go far towards buying a second. 

The tjalks are all built in the same form and 
from a common model. They carry a mast and 
sail, although for the greater part of their jour- 
neys they are towed by their owners, or rather by 
the families, wife and children, of the owner. 
Mynheer, the barge-owner, is usually to be seen 
smoking his pipe and taking his ease near the 
tiller. Formerly it was otherwise, for the towing 
was done by dogs, under the personal direction 
of, and no doubt with some assistance from, the 
barge-owner himself, while his wife and children 
remained on the poop of the boat. But five and 
twenty years ago the authorities of Amsterdam 
issued a law prohibiting the employment of dogs 
in the work of towing, and gradually this law was 
generally adopted and enforced throughout the 



The Canals and their Population 69 

country. When dogs were emancipated from 
their servitude on the canal-bank the family had 
to take their places, and by degrees the ease- 
loving head of the family has grown content to 
look on and think towing a labour reflecting on 
his dignity. There is nothing unusual in the 
sight of a barge being towed by an old woman, 
her daughter or daughter-in-law, and several 
children. As they strain at the rope the work 
seems extremely hard, but the people themselves 
appear unconscious of any hardship or inequality 
in the distribution of labour. 

The barge is in the first place a conveyance. 
The whole of the front part of the boat represents 
the hold in which the cargo is placed. This is 
generally represented by cheese or vegetables, 
timber, peat, and stones, the last-named being a 
return-cargo for the repairing of dykes and the 
construction of quays. But in the second place 
it is a house or place of residence, and the stern 
of the boat is given up for that purpose. The 
living room is the raised deck or poop, on which 
is not only the tiller, but the cooking-stove. The 
sleeping-room forms the one covered-in apartment. 
It is easily divisible into two by a temporary or 
removable partition, and it always possesses the 
two little windows, one on each side of the tiller, 
which give it so great a resemblance to a doll's 
house. This resemblance is certainly heightened 
by the custom of colouring the barges, which are 
always painted a bright colour, red or green being 



70 Dutch Life 

perhaps the most usual. As ornament there is 
usually a good deal of brasswork ; the handle of 
the tiller is generally bordered with the metal, 
and the owner seems to take pride in nailing brass 
along the bulwarks of his boat where it is not 
v/anted and is even little seen. It has been sug- 
gested that the polishing of these brass plates or 
bars provides a pleasant change from the dull 
routine work of towing. The brightness of the 
paint and the brasswork constitutes the pride of 
the barge-owners, and supplies a standard of com- 
parison among them. 

To increase the homelike aspect of this water 
residence, birds and plants, always in greater or less 
quantity and variety, are to be seen either in the 
windows or on the deck. The poorest bargee, 
which generally means the youngest or the begin- 
ner, will have one song-bird in a gilt cage, and as 
he accumulates money in his really profitable 
calling, he will add to his collection of birds a row 
of flowers and bulbs in pots. Thus he says, with 
a glow of satisfaction, " I possess an aviary and 
a garden, like my cousin Hans on the polders, 
although my home is on the moving waters." 
To strengthen the illusion what does he do but 
fix a toy gate on the poop above his sleeping- 
cabin, and thus cherishes the belief that he is on 
his own domain. In the evening, when the 
towing is over for the day, the women bring out 
their sewing, the children play around the tiller, 
and the good man smokes his immense pipe with 



The Canals and their Population 71 

complete and indolent satisfaction. And so day 
passes on to day without a variation, and life 
runs by without a ripple or a murmur for the 
canal population, while the mere landsmen look 
on with envy at what seems to them an idyllic 
existence, and even ladies of breeding and high 
station have been known to declare that they 
would gladly change places with the mistress of 
the bargee's quarter-deck. That was no doubt 
in the days before women had to take on them- 
selves the brunt and burden of the towing. 

But even for the canal population of Holland 
the halc5^on days are past. The spirit of reform 
is in the air. It may not be long before the tjalk, 
with its doll's house and its residential popula- 
tion, will finally disappear, and leave the canals 
of Holland as dull and colourless as the inland 
waters of any other country. The reform seems 
likely to come about in this way: There are at 
least 30,000 children resident on the canal- 
boats. How are they to be properly educated and 
brought up as useful citizens if they are to 
continue to lead a migratory existence, which 
never leaves them for a fortnight in a single place ? 
Formerly nobody cared whether they were ed- 
ucated or not. They were left undisturbed to 
live their lives in their own simple and primi- 
tive way. As De Amicis wrote : ' ' The children 
are born and grow up on the water ; the boat 
carries all their small belongings, their domestic 
affections, their past, their present, and their 



72 Dutch Life 

future. They labour and save, and after many 
years they buy a larger boat, selling the old one 
to a family poorer than themselves, or handing it 
over to the eldest son, who in his turn installs his 
wife, taken from another boat, and seen for the 
first time in a chance meeting on the canal." 
But now the State has begun to interest itself in 
the children, and its intervention threatens to put 
a rude and summary ending to the system of 
heredity and exclusion which has kept the canal 
population a class apart. 

For some time past schools have been in exist- 
ence, especially devoted to the education of the 
barge children, and whenever the barges are 
moored in harbour the children are expected to 
attend them. But these periods of halting are 
very brief and uncertain. The stationary barge 
earns no money, and it may even be that the 
parents evade the law as far as possible for fear 
of seeing their children acquire a distaste for the 
life in which they have been brought up. But 
the Government, having taken one step in the 
matter, cannot afford to go back, and it must also 
have definite, satisfactory results to show for its 
legislation. The tentative measure of temporary 
schools along the canals has not leavened the 
illiteracy of the canal population. It will, there- 
fore, become necessary at no great interval to 
devise some fresh and drastic regulations. Com- 
pulsory attendance at school for nine months of 
the year, which now applies to children in normal 



The Canals and their Population 73 

circumstauces, may not be the lot of the barge 
children for some time, but when it comes, as it 
inevitably will some day, it will of necessity mean 
the break-up of the home life on the canals, for 
the children will have to be left behind during the 
almost unceasing voyages, and a place of residence 
will have to be provided on land. Where the 
children are the women will soon be, and gradu- 
ally this place of residence will become the home, 
displacing the barge in the associations and affec- 
tions of the canal population. Whether these 
changes will benefit those most affected by them 
cannot be guaranteed, but at least they will put 
an end to the separate existence of the canal 
population. 

When this result has been compassed by the 
inexorable progress of education and knowledge, 
the gradual disappearance of the canal population, 
the class of hereditary bargees as we have known 
it, and as it still exists, may be expected to follow 
at no remote date, for it was based on the enforce- 
ment of the family principle, and on the devotion 
of a whole community, from its youngest to its 
eldest member, to its maintenance. As it is, the 
tow-barge is something of an anachronism, but 
the withdrawal of the youthful recruits, whose 
up-bringing alone rendered it possible, will entail 
its inevitable extinction. The decay and break- 
up of the guild of ijalk owners will be hastened 
by the introduction of steam and electricity as 
means of locomotion. The canals will lose the 



74 Dutch Life 

bright-coloured barges which are to-day their 
most striking feature, and the population that 
has so long floated over their surface. Life will 
be duller and more monotonous. The canal 
population, so long distinct, will be merged in 
the rest of the community. The tug will displace 
the tow-rope. The pullers will be housed on 
land, mastering the three R's instead of learning 
to strain at the girth. 

But there is still a brief period left during 
which the canal population may be seen in its 
original primitive existence, devoted to the barge, 
which is the only home known to six or seven 
thousand families, and traversing the water roads 
of their country in unceasing and endless progres- 
sion. There is nothing like it in any other 
country of Europe. Venice has its water routes, 
but the gondola is not a domicile. There was a 
canal population in England, but, like much else 
in our modern life, it has lost whatever pictur- 
esqueness it might once have claimed. For a 
true canal population, bright and happy, living 
the same life from father to son and generation to 
generation, we must go to Holland. There these 
inland navigators ply their vocation with only one 
ambition, and that to become the owner of a 
tjalk, and to rear thereon a family of towers. It 
is said that the life is one that requires the con- 
sumption of unlimited quantities of schnapps and 
the humidity of the atmosphere is undoubted. 
But even free libations do not diminish the pro- 



The Canals and their Population 75 

sperity of the bargees. They are a thriving race, 
and it must also be noted to their credit that they 
are well behaved, and not given to quarrels. Col- 
lisions on the thickly-covered canals are rare ; 
malicious collisions are unknown. The barges 
pass and repass without hindrance, the tow-ropes 
never get entangled, there is mutual forbearance, 
and the skill derived from long experience in 
slipping the ropes under the barges does the rest. 
The conditions under which the canal population 
exists and thrives are a survival of an older order 
of things. When they disappear another of the 
few picturesque heritages of mediaeval life will 
have been removed from the hurly-burly and 
fierce competition of modern existence. 




CHAPTER VII 

A DUTCH VII^LAGE 

V ULLAGES in Holland are towns in miniature, 
for the simple reason that when you have a 
marsh to live in you drain a part of it and build 
on that part, and so build in streets, and do not 
form a village as in England, by houses dotted 
here and there round a green or down leafy lanes. 
The village green in Holland is the village street 
or square in front of the church or Raadhuis. 
Here the children play, for you cannot play in a 
swamp, and that is what polder land is seven 
months out of the year, and so we find that a 
Dutch village in most parts of the country is a 
town in miniature. Thirty years ago the Raad- 
huis would have been the village inn, barber's 
shop, and the principal hotel all rolled into one, 
and the innkeeper, as a natural consequence, the 
wealthiest man in the neighbourhood. The 
farmers would have sat at the Raad, i. e., the 
Village Council, with their caps over their eyes, 
long Gouda pipes in their mouths, and a glaasje 
klare (Schiedam) under their chairs which 
they would have steadily sipped at intervals: 
76 



A Dutch Village n 

puffing at their pipes during the whole sitting. 
Their wooden shoes {klompen), scrubbed for 
the occasion to a brilliant white with the help of 
a good layer of whitening, might have been seen 
in a row standing on the door-mat, for no well- 
educated farmer would ever have dreamed of en- 
tering a room with shoes on his feet, and he 
would have taken his pruim or quid of tobacco, 
which every farmer chews even when smoking, 
out of his mouth and laid it on the window-sill , 
the usual receptacle for such things, and there it 
would lie in its own little circle of brown fluid to 
be replaced either in his own or his neighbour's 
mouth after the meeting was over. Nowadays a 
farmer goes to the Raad dressed in a suit of 
black clothes and with his feet encased in leather 
boots. He never wears klo77ipen save when 
at work in the field or on the farm. He also talks 
of his Gemeente for all Holland is portioned 
off into Gemeenten and a village is such in as 
good a sense as large towns like The Hague 
and Amsterdam, and better, if anything, for the 
taxes there are not so high. Each Gemeente 
is separately governed by a Burgomaster and 
Leden van den Raad, which is nothing more 
nor less than a County Council, presided over by 
a prominent man nominated by the sovereign, 
and not elected by the members, of which some 
are called Wethouders, and are, like the other 
members, elected by the residents of the dis- 
trict. These Wethouders, with the Burgomaster, 



78 Dutch Life 

form the Dagelyksch Bestuur. All ordinary 
matters concerning the Gemeente, such as giv- 
ing information to the Minister of War about 
the men who have signed for the militia, or 
about any person living in their Geineenten are 
regulated by the Dagelyksch Bestuur, though 
matters of import are brought before the Raad. 
Next in importance to the Burgomaster come 
the Gemeente-ontvanger, who receives all the 
taxes, and the "Notary," who is the busiest man 
in the village, although the doctor and clergy- 
man or priest have a large share in the work 
of contributing to the welfare of the villagers. 

A village clergyman is an important person, 
for he is held in high honour by his parishioners, 
and his larder is always well stocked free of cost. 
His income, also, is relatively larger than that of a 
town pastor, for, besides his fixed salary, he reaps 
a nice little revenue from the pastures belonging 
to the pastorij, which he lets out to farmers. 
The schoolmaster, on the contrary, is treated with 
but little consideration, and he often feels de- 
cidedly like a fish out of water, for, though be- 
longing by birth to the labouring class, he is 
too well educated to associate with his former 
companions and yet not sufl&ciently refined to 
move in the village " society," besides which he 
would not be able to return hospitality, as his 
salary only amounts to from ^40 to £60 a year, 
and nowhere is the principle of reciprocity more 
observed than in Dutch hospitality in certain 



A Dutch Village 79 

classes. In very small villages many offices are 
combined in one person, and so we find a promi- 
nent inhabitant blacksmith, painter, and carpen- 
ter, while the baker's shop is a kind of universal 
provider for the villagers' simple wants. The 
butcher is the only person who is the man of one 
occupation, though he, too, goes round to the 
neighbouring farms to help in the slaughtering 
of the cattle, and sometimes lends a hand in the 
salting and storing of the meat. 

The farmers live just outside the village, and 
only come there when they go to the Raad or 
on Saturday evenings when the week's work 
is done. They then visit the barber before 
meeting at the cafe for their weekly game of bil- 
liards. Every resident of the village also betakes 
himself to his " club " or Societeit on Satur- 
day'- night, and just as the Mindere man, i. e.y 
farmers and labourers, have their games and dis- 
cuss their farms, their cattle, and the price of hay 
or corn, so, too, the Noiahelen discuss every 
subject under the sun, not forgetting their dear 
neighbours. 

On Sunday mornings the whole Gemeente 
goes to church, from the Burgomaster to the 
poorest farm-labourer, and all are dressed in their 
best. The men of the village have put aside their 
working-clothes, and are attired in blue or black 
cloth suits, with white shirt fronts and coloured 
ties. The women have donned black dresses, 
caps, and shawls, and carry their scent-bottles, 



8o Dutch Life 

peppermints, and gezangboek (hymnbook) with 
large golden clasps. The Stovenzetster, a wo- 
man who acts as verger, shows the good 
people to their seats and provides the wo- 
men, if the weather is cold, with warme 
sloven (hot stoves), to keep their feet com- 
fortable. These little "stoves" contain little 
three-cornered green or brown pots {testeii), in 
which pieces of glowing peat are put, and some- 
times when the peat is not quite red-hot it smokes 
terribl}', and gives a most unpleasant odour to 
the building. The women survive it, however, 
l^y resorting to their eau de Cologne, which 
they sprinkle upon their handkerchiefs, and keep 
passing to their neighbours during the whole 
service. 

The village schoolmaster has a special office to 
perform in the Sunday service. It is he who 
reads a chapter to them before the entrance of 
the clergyman, who comes only when service 
has begun. Then the sermon, which is the chief 
part of the service in Dutch churches, begins. 
This sermon is very long, and the congregation 
sleep through the first part very peacefully, but 
the rest is not for long, for when the " domine " 
has spoken for about three-quarters of an hour he 
calls upon his congregation to sing a verse of 
some particular psalm. The schoolmaster starts 
the singing, which goes very slowly, each note 
lasting at least four beats, so that the tune is 
completely lost. However, as a rule, everyone 



A Dutch Village 8i 

o 

sings a different tune, and nobody knows which 
is the right one. Two collections are taken dur- 
ing the service, one for the poor and one for the 
church, the schoolmaster and the elders {Ouder- 
Ihigeii) of the church going round with little bags 
tied to very long sticks, which they pass all along 
a row in which to receive the ' ' gifts. ' ' Generally, 
one cent is given by each of the congregation. 

After church is over, the Sunday lunch takes 
the next place in the day's routine. The table is 
always more carefully set out on Sundays than 
on other days, and to the usual fare of bread, 
butter, and cheese are added smoked beef and- 
cake, while the coffee-pot stands on the kom- 
foortje (a square porcelain stand with a little 
light inside to keep the pot hot), and the sugar- 
pot contains white sugar as a Sunday treat, for 
sugar is very dear in Holland, and cannot form 
an articleof daily consumption. Servants always 
make an agreement about sugar; hence on week- 
days a supply of brokken (sweets something 
like toffee, and costing about a penny for three 
English ounces) is kept in the sugar-pot, and 
when the people drink coffee they put a brok 
in their mouths and suck it. Should their cup 
be emptied before the brok is finished, they 
replace it on their saucer till a second cup is 
poured out for them, and if they do not take a 
second cup, then their brok is put back into the 
sugar-pot again. 

After lunch, the men now find their way to the 



82 Dutch Life 

Sodeteit, or in summer to the village street; 
where they walk about in their shirt-sleeves 
and smoke. The children go to their Sunday- 
schools, or, if they are Roman Catholics, to the 
Leering which is a Bible-class held for them in 
church, and in villages where there is no Sunday- 
school they, too, leisurely perambulate the village 
dressed in their best clothes, even if it is a wet 
day. The women first clear away the lunch 
utensils, and then have a little undisturbed chat 
with their neighbours on the doorstep, or go to 
see their friends in town. At four o'clock the 
whole family assembles again in the parlour for 
their borreltje, either consisting of boe?'enjon- 
gens (brandied raisins) brandewyn '>net suiker 
(brandy with sugar), which they drink out of their 
best glasses. There is no church in the evening, 
so the villagers retire early to bed, so as to be in 
good trim for the week's hard work again. 

From this sketch it will be judged that life in 
a village is very dull. There is nothing to break 
the monotony of the days, and one season passes 
by in precisely the same way as another. Days 
and seasons, in fact, make no difference whatever 
in the villager's existence. There is no pack of 
hounds to fire the sporting instinct ; no excite- 
ment of elections ; no distraction of any kind. 
All is quiet, regular, and uneventful, and when 
their days are over they sleep with their fathers 
naturally enough, for only too often have they 
been half asleep all their lives. 







r^^-^^Tb^^ "^V 



CHAPTER VIII 

the; peasant at homk 

TO describe an ' ' average ' ' Dutch peasant 
would be to say very little of him. There 
is far too much difference in this class of people 
all over the Netherlands to allow of any generali- 
sation. In Zealand we meet two distinct t5^pes — 
one very much akin to the Spanish race, having 
a Spaniard's dark hair, dark eyes, and sallow 
complexion, and often very good-looking; the 
other type is entirely different — fair-haired, light- 
eyed, and of no particular beauty. In L,imburg, 
the most southern province of the Netherlands, 
one finds a mixture of the German, Flemish, and 
Dutch types, and the language there is a dialect 
formed from all those three tongues, while in the 
most northern province, Groningen, the people 
speak a dialect resembling that spoken in Overys- 
sel and Gelderland, and the Frisians, their neigh- 
bours, would feel themselves quite strangers in 
the last-named provinces, and would not even be 
able to make themselves understood when speak- 
ing in their usual language. In the Betuwe the 
dialect spoken differs from that in the Veluwe, 
83 



84 Dutch Life 

but no distinct line can be drawn to deter- 
mine where one dialect begins and the other 
ends. 

In their mode of dressing, too, there is a great 
difiference between the people of one province and 
of another, and in Zeeland every island has its 
own special costume. Just as thej^ differ in dress, 
so they also differ in appearance and education, 
wealth, and civili elation, 

A North Holland farmer is well-to-do and in- 
dependent. For centuries he has battled and 
disputed every inch of his land with the sea, and 
it has been pointed out by observant people that 
the effects of the strife are still marked in his 
harsh and rugged features and independent wa5'S. 
It is well known that his cattle are the best in all 
the countrj^ for the pastures, by reason of the 
damp polder ground, are very rich, and yield 
year out year in an abundant crop of grass and 
hay, the cows he keeps for milking purposes 
giving from 20 to 30 litres, or from 45 to 70 pints, 
of milk a day, which is a very high yield. 

The Vrye Fries — for the Frisian congratu- 
lates himself on never having been conquered, 
but always having in days of war and tribal feud 
made his own terms more or less with an adver- 
sary — stands higher in culture and intellect, and 
is also more enterprising, than the great majority 
of the Dutch peasants. He welcomes many in- 
ventions, and is willing to risk something in try- 
ing them, and so one can see many kinds of 



The Peasant at Home 85 

machinery in use on the Frisian farms. He also 
works with the most modern and approved artifi- 
cial manures. 

The Groningen and Qveryssel boer ' follows 
his example unless the farms are so small as to 
make large machinery impracticable, when he 
goes along the path marked out by his great- 
grandfather, and finds safety, if not novelty, in 
so doing. All over the north of Holland the 
cows are good, and there is milk, butter, and 
cheese in abundance at the markets, especially 
the two last-named articles, as nearly all the milk 
is sent to the zidvelfabriekeri as butter and cheese 
factories are called. 

Travelling from north to south, and so reaching 
the Wilhelminapolder in Zeeland, we come across 
the steam-plough, but that is the only place 
in the Netherlands where it is in use. The farther 
south one goes— Zeeland excepted— the lower be- 
comes the standard of life, and the peasants seem 
to care for little else than their fields and cattle, 
while the people of Noord Brabant are the poor- 
est and dirtiest of them all. The produce of the 
soil varies according to the ground cultivated. 
In Utrecht and Brabant many thousand acres are 
devoted to tobacco, while Overyssel and Gelder- 

' Peasant and farmer as a rule are convertible terms. 
A farmer is a peasant, although a peasant is not always 
the owner of a farm. In point of education the farmer 
himself does not differ from the average labourer on his 
farm, and both alike are classed as boeren. 



86 Dutch Life 

iand, as a rule, grow rye, oats, buckwheat, and 
flax. In Drenthe, the greater part of the province 
yields peat, and North and South Holland are 
famous all over the world for their rich pastures. 
Cabbages and cauliflowers are also extensively 
cultivated for exportation, and in Friesland they 
have begun to cul tivate them also. From Water- 
ingen to the Hoek van Holland one sees smiling 
orchards, while from Leyden to Haarlem blos- 
som the world-famed bulb-fields, too well known 
to need special description. 

The farm-work is done in the spring and sum- 
mer. The women invariably help with the lighter 
work of weeding in the fields, while in harvest- 
time they work as hard as the men, and very 
picturesque they look in their broad black hats 
and white linen skirts. But when the harvest is 
gathered in, and the pigs have been converted 
into hams and sausages, the man's chief labour 
is over, although the manuring of the land and 
the threshing of the corn have to be attended to. 
Still, he has his evenings wherein to sit by the 
fireside and smoke, presumably gathering energy 
the while for the coming spring. A woman's 
work, however, is never ended, for while the man 
smokes she spins the flax grown on her own 
ground and the wool from the sheep of the farm. 
In some parts of Overyssel it is still the custom 
for the women to meet together at some neigh- 
bouring friend's house to spin, and during these 
sociable evenings they partake of the " spinning- 



The Peasant at Home Sy 

meal," which consists of currant bread and cofifee, 
and in turn sing and tell stories. 

A weaver always visits every house once a year 
with his own loom to assist at these gatherings, 
and when the linen is woven it is rolled up and 
tied with coloured ribbons, decorated with artifi- 
cial flowers, and kept in the linen-press — the pride 
of every Dutch housewife — and when a daughter 
of the house marries several rolls of this linen 
are added to her trousseau. The wealth of the 
farm is, in fact, calculated by the number of rolls. 
These are handed down for generations, and often 
contain linen more than a hundred years old. 
The wool, when woven, is made up into thick 
petticoats, of which every well-dressed peasant 
woman wears six or seven. 

The education of the farmer is not very liberal. 
A child generally goes to school until he is twelve 
years of age, and during that time he has learnt 
reading, writing, and arithmetic. As a rule, 
however, he does not attend regularly, as his 
help is so often wanted at home, especially at 
harvest-time, and although the new education 
law — the Leerplichhvet of July 7, 1901 — has 
made school attendance compulsory, yet a child 
is allowed to remain at home when wanted if he 
has attended school regularly during the six 
previous months. The interest of the parent and 
the inclination of the child are thus combined to 
the retarding of the intellectual progress of the 
boer. And yet, although they are so badly 



88 Dutch Life 

taught, the peasantry have a very good opinion 
about things in general, and if you assist them 
in their work and show them that you can use 
your hands as well as they can they have great 
respect for you, and will listen to anything you 
like to tell them about or read to them. The 
women especially have very pronounced views 
of their own, a trait not confined to Netherland 
womenfolk. To go about among them is at pre- 
sent the best way of educating them, and when 
you have once won their regard they will go 
through fire and water for you ; but they despise 
anyone who " does nothing," for, like most 
manual workers, they do not understand that 
brain-work is as hard as manual labour. 

The farmhouses in most parts of the country 
are neat and more or less of a pattern, although 
they differ in minor details. Outside their ap- 
pearance is very quaint and picturesque, and the 
roofs are either thatched or tiled. In Groningen 
they now hardly resemble farms. They are, in- 
deed, little country seats and the interior is 
decidedly modern. Some of the very poorest- 
looking houses are to be found in Over3^ssel 
and Drenthe. These are built of clay, and stand 
half-way in the ground. The roofs are covered, 
with sods taken from the Dj'entsche veettgronden. 
Some of these plaggewoningeyi, as they are called, 
are not more than twelve feet square and 
eight feet high. The ceiling of the room inside 
the dwelling is only four or five feet high, and 



The Peasant at Home 89 

above this the stores of hay and corn are kept. 
A hole in the roof serves as chimney, and in the 
floor — which is nothing but hard clay — a hole is 
dug to serve as fireplace. On the larger farms in 
Overyssel the main building is generally divided 
into two parts. The back part is for the cattle 
w^hich stand in rows on either side, with a 
large open space in the centre, called the deel 
where the carts aire kept. A large arched double 
door leads into it, while the thatched roof comes 
down low on either side. Leading from the 
deel, or stable, into the living-room, is a small 
door, with a window to enable the inhabitants to 
see what is going on among their friends of the 
fields. Against the wall which forms the partition 
between the stable and living-room is the fire- 
place. You will sometimes find an open fire on 
the floor, though in the more modern houses 
stoves are used. The chimney-piece is in the 
shape of a large overhanging hood with a flounce 
of light print schoorsteeiival round it, and a row of 
plates on a shelf above serves for ornament. 
The much-prized linen-press, which has already 
been mentioned, is usually placed at right-angles 
to the outer door, so as to form a kind of 
passage. 

In some farmhouses there is no partition at all 
between the stable and living-room, but the cattle 
are kept at the back, and the people live at the 
other end, near the window. This is called a 
loshuis, or open house, and very picturesque 



90 Dutch Life 

it is to look at. The smell of the cows is con- 
sidered to be extremely healthy, and consumptive 
patients have been completely cured (so it is 
popularly believed) by sleeping in the cowsheds. 
'Besides being healthy, this primitive system is also 
cheap, for the cows give out so much warmth that it 
is almost unnecessary to have fires except for cook- 
ing purposes. Some of these open houses have no 
chimneys, the smoke finding its way out between 
the tiles of the roof or through the door. There is 
a hayloft above the part occupied by the cattle, 
while over the heads of the family hams, bacon, 
and sausages of every description hang from the 
rafters. Smokeis very useful incuringthese stores, 
and this may account for the absence of a chimney. 
In Brabant, however, where there are chim- 
neys, the farmer hangs his stores in them, so that 
when looking up through the wide opening to 
the sky beyond, numerous tiers of dangling sau- 
sages meet one's admiring gaze. The living-room 
is a living-room in every sense of the word, for 
the family work, eat, and sleep there. Sometimes 
a larger farm has a wing attached to it containing 
bedrooms, but this is not general, and even so, 
most of the family sleep in the living-room. The 
beds are placed round the room. They are, in 
fact, cupboards, and by day are fixed in the wall. 
Green curtains are hung before the beds, and are 
always drawn at night, completely concealing the 
beds from view. Some have doors like ordinary 
cupboards, but this is more general in North Hoi- 



The Peasant at Home 91 

Jand, In Hindeloopen (Friesland) one or two 
beds in the living-room are kept as pronk- 
bedden (show-beds). They are decked out 
with the finest linen the farmers' wives possess, 
the sheets gorgeous with long laces, and the ^ 
pillow-slips beautifully embroidered. These beds 
are never slept in, and the curtains are kept open 
all day long, so that anyone who enters the 
room can at once admire their beauty. Some of 
the more wealthy have a ' ' best bedroom, ' ' which 
they keep carefully locked. They dust it every 
day, and clean it out once a week, but never use 
it. In South Holland it is more customary to 
have a pronk-kanier (show-room), which is not 
a bedroom, but a kind of parlour. This room 
is never entered by the inhabitants of the house 
except at a birth or a death, and in the latter 
case they put the corpse there. In Hinde- 
loopen the dead are put in the church to await 
burial, and there they rest on biers specially made 
for the occasion. A different bier is used to re- 
present the trade or profession or sex of the dead 
person. These biers are always most elaborately 
painted (as, indeed, are all things in Hinde- 
loopen), with scenes out of the life of a doctor, a 
clergyman, a tradesman, or a peasant. 

The costume worn by the peasantry is always ^ 
quaint, and this is especially so in Hindeloopen. 
The waistband of a peasant woman takes alone an 
hour and a half to arrange. It consists of a very 
long, thin, black band, which is wound round 



92 Dutch Life 

and round the waist till it forms one broad sash. 
The dress itself includes a black skirt and a check 
bodice, a white apron, and a dark necktie ; from 
the waistband hangs at the right-hand side a long 
silver chain, to which are attached a silver pin- 
cushion, a pair of scissors, and a needle case; then 
on the left-hand side hangs a reticule with silver 
clasps ; and a long mantle, falling loose from the 
shoulders to the hem of the skirt, is worn over all 
out-of-doors. This latter is of some light-coloured 
material, with a pattern of red flowers and green 
leaves. On the head three caps are worn, one over 
the other, and for outdoor wear a large, tall bon- 
net is donned by way of completing the costume. 

All the Frisian costumes are beautiful. Many 
ladies of that province still wear the national 
dress, and a very becoming one it is. 

In Overyssel the women all over the province 
dress alike, and in the same way their ancestors 
did. In the house the dress is an ordinary full 
petticoat of some cotton stuff, generally blue, and 
a tight-fitting and perfectly plain bodice with 
short sleeves, a red handkerchief folded across 
the chest, and a close-fitting white cap, with a 
little flounce round the neck. When they go to 
market with their milk and eggs they are very 
smart.' They then wear a fine black merino 

' Butter used to be one of the wares they took to mar- 
ket, but now so many butter-factories have arisen, and 
also so much is imported from Australia, that it is hardly 
worth their while to make it. 



The Peasant at Home 93 

skirt, made very full, and the inevitable petti- 
coats, which make the skirt stand out like a 
crinoline. On Sundays they wear the same cos- 
tume as on market-days, and in winter they are 
to be seen with large India shawls worn in a 
point down the back in the old-fashioned way. 
When they go to communion, as they do four 
times a year, the shawls are of black silk with 
long black fringes. The hair is completely 
hidden b}^ a close-fitting black cap, and some 
women cut off their hair so as to give the head a 
perfectly round shape. Over the black cap is 
worn a white one of real lace, called a knip- 
vtuts, the pattern of which shows to advantage 
over the black ground. A deep flounce of gauf- 
fred real lace goes round the neck, while round 
the face there is a ruche or frill, also very finely 
gauffred. A broad white brocaded ribbon is laid 
twice round the cap, and fastened under the chin. 
Long gold earrings are fastened to the cap on 
either side of the face, and the ears themselves 
are hidden. The style of gauffering is still the 
same as is seen in the muslin caps of so many 
Dutch pictures of the sixteenth and seventeenth 
centuries, especially in those of Frans Hals. 
When in mourning, the women wear a plain 
linen cap without any lace, and the men a black 
bow in their caps. It is quite a work of art to 
make up a peasant woman's head-dress, and 
several cap-makers are kept busy at it all day 
long. 



94 Dutch Life 

The clothes the men wear are not so elaborate. 
They used to be short knickerbockers with silver 
clasps, but these have entirely gone out of fashion, 
and they have been replaced by ordinary clothes 
of cloth or corduroy. Both sexes wear wooden 
shoes, which the men often make themselves. In 
the far-famed little island of Marken the men are 
very clever at this work, and they carve them 
beautifully. In some lonely hamlets the un- 
married women wear black caps with a thick 
ruche of ostrich feathers or black fur round the 
face. The jewellry consists of garnet necklaces 
closed round the neck and fastened by golden 
clasps. The garnets are always very large, and 
this fashion is general all over the Netherlands. 
In Stompwyk, a little village between The Hague 
and I^eyden, a peasant family possesses garnets as 
large as a swallow's egg. 

If the dress of the boers is solid, quaint, and 
national, the daily food of the class is in keeping 
with their conservative temper and traditional 
gastronomic ability. It is of the plainest charac- 
ter, but often consists of the strangest mixtures. 
When the pig is killed, and the different parts 
for hams, sides of bacon, etc., have been stored, 
and the sausages made — especially after the)'- 
have boiled the black-puddings, or bloedzvorst, 
which is made of the blood of the pigs — a thick, 
fatty substance remains in the pot. This they 
thicken with buckwheat meal till it forms a por- 
ridge, and then they eat it with treacle. The 



The Peasant at Home 95 

name of this dish is balkenbry. A portion of 
this, together with some of the slacht, i. e., 
the flesh of the pig, is sent as a present to the 
clergyman of the village, and it is to be hoped he 
enjoys it. 

Another favourite dish, especially in Overyssel 
and Gelderland, is kruidnioes. This is a mix- 
ture of buttermilk boiled with buckwheat meal, 
vegetables, celery, and sweet herbs, such as 
thyme, parsley, and chervil, and, to crown all, 
a huge piece of smoked bacon, and it is served 
steaming hot. The poor there eat a great deal 
of rice and flour boiled with buttermilk, which, 
besides being very nutritious, is " matchless for 
the complexion," like many of the advertised 
soaps. The very poor have what is called a 
vetpot. This they keep in the cellar, and in 
it they put every particle of fat that remains over 
from their meals. Small scraps of bacon are 
melted down and added to it, for this fat must 
last them the whole winter through as an addition 
to their potatoes. Indeed, the vetpot plays as 
great a part in a poor man's house as the " stock- 
pot " does in an English kitchen. 

The meals are cooked in a large iron pot, which 
hangs from a hook over the open hearth. The 
fuel consists of huge logs of wood and heather 
sods, which are also used for covering the roof 
of the plaggewoning . Black or rye bread 
takes the place of white, and is generally home- 
made. In Brabant the women bake what is called 



9^ Dutch Life 

boeren mik. This is a delicious long brown 
loaf, and there are always a few raisins mixed 
with the dough to keep it from getting stale. 
Those who have no ovens of their own put the 
dough in a large long baking-tin and send it to 
the baker. One of the children, on his way back 
from school, fetches it and carries it home under 
his arm. You may often see farmers' children 
walking about in their wooden shoes with two or 
more loaves under their arms. Both wooden 
shoes and loaves are used in a dispute between 
comrades, and the loaf-carrier generally gains the 
day. The crusts are very hard and difficult to 
cut, but inside the bread is soft and palatable. 

In Brabant, the peasants — small of stature, 
black-haired, brown-eyed, more of the Flemish 
than the Dutch type — are as a rule Roman 
Catholics, and on Shrove Tuesday evening, 
Vastenavondy (' ' Fast evening, ' ' the night before, 
I,ent), they bake and eat zvorstebrood. On 
the outside this bread looks like an ordinary 
white loaf, but on cutting it open you find it to 
contain a spicy sausage-meat mixture. All the 
people in this part of the country observe the 
Carnival, with its accustomed license. 

Times for farming are bad in the Netherlands 
as elsewhere. The rents are high and wages 
low, and the consequence is that many peasants 
sell their farms, which have for a long time been 
in their families, and rent them again from the 
purchasers. The relations between landlord and 



The Peasant at Home 97 

tenant are in some respects still feudalistic, and 
hence very old-fashioned. On some estates the 
landlord has still the right of exacting personal 
service from his tenants, and can call upon them 
to come and plough his field with their horses, or 
help with the harvesting, for which service they 
are paid one " gulden," or i^. 8^. a day, which, 
of course, is not the full value of their labour. 
The tenants likewise ask their landlord's consent 
to their marriages, and it is refused if the man or 
woman is not considered suitable or respectable. 

A farmer who keeps two or three cows pays a 
rent of ^8 a year for his farm, which only yields 
enough to keep him and his family — not in a high 
standard of living either. The rent is generally 
calculated at the rate of three per cent, of the 
value. He pays his farm-labourers 80 cents, or 
i^. 4^/., for a day's work. In former days, how- 
ever, money was never given, and the wages of 
a farm- servant then were a suit of clothes, a pair 
of boots, and some linen, while the women re- 
ceived an apron, some linen, and a few petticoats 
once a year. Now they get, in addition to this, 
^i 2 a j^ear. In Gramsbergen (Overyssel) a whole 
family, consisting of a mother, her daughter 
and her two grown-up sons, earned no more than 
four or five guilders (8^. or lo^.) between them, 
but then they lived rent free. It is not wonder- 
ful, therefore, that farm-labourers are scarce, and 
that many a young man, unable to earn enough 
to keep body and soul together decently, seeks 



98 Dutch Life 

work in the factories here or in Belgium,^ while 
those who do not wish to give up agricultural 
pursuits migrate to Germany, where the demand 
for ' ' hands ' ' is greater and the wages conse- 
quently higher. In former days strangers came 
to this country to earn money. Now the tables 
are turned, and the fact that Holland is situated 
between two countries whose thriving industries 
demand a greater number of workers every year 
will yet bring serious trouble and loss to Dutch 
agriculture.* 

'According to a recent return, 56,506 Netherlands 
workmen are employed in Belgium. 

*Just now great results are expected from the "allot- 
ment system," of which a trial has been made in Fries- 
land on the extensive possessions of Mr. Jansen, of 
Amsterdam. 




CHAPTER IX 



RURAIv CUSTOMS 



THK Hollander is a very conservative indi- 
vidual, and therefore some curious customs 
still prevail among the peasant and working 
classes in the Netherlands, especially in the 
Kastern Provinces, for there the people are most 
primitive, and there it is that we find many queer 
old rhymes, apparently without any sense in 
them, but which must have had their origin in 
forgotten national or domestic events. A rem- 
nant of an old pagan custom of welcoming the 
summer is still to be seen in many country places. 
On the Saturday before Whitsunday, very early 
in the morning, a party of children may be seen 
setting out towards the woods to gather green 
boughs. After dipping these in water they re- 
turn home in triumph and place them before the 
doors of those who were not * ' up with the lark ' ' 
in such a manner that when these long sleepers 
open them, the wet green boughs will come 
tumbling down upon their heads. Very often, 
too, the children pursue the late risers, and beat 
them with the branches, jeering at them the 
99 



loo Dutch Life 

while, and singing about the laziness of the slug- 
gard. These old songs have undergone very 
many variations, and nowadays one cannot say 
which is the correct and original form. They 
have, in fact, been hopelessly mixed up with 
other songs, and in no two provinces do we find 
exactly the same versions. The luilakfeest,'^ of 
which I have just spoken, goes by the name of 
Dauwtrappen ("treading the dew") in some 
parts of the country, but the observance of it is 
the same wherever the custom obtains. 

Eiertikken at Kaster must also not be over- 
looked. For a whole week before Kaster the 
peasant children go round from house to house 
begging for eggs, and carrying a wreath of green 
leaves stuck on a long stick. This stick and 
wreath they call their Palm Paschen which 
really means Palm Sunday, and may have been so 
called because they make the wreath on that day. 

Down the village streets they go, singing all 
the while and waving the wreath above their 
heads: 

" Palm, Palm Paschen, 
Hei koeerei. 
Weldra is het Paschen, 
Dan hebben wy een ei. 
Een ei — twee ei, 
Het clerde is het Paschei." 

' This day is called Luilak (sluggard) in some parts of 
the country and the feast is called Luilakfeest. 



Rural Customs loi 

[" Palm, Palm Sunday, 
Hei koeerei. 
Soon it will be Baster, 
And we shall have an egg. 
One egg — two eggs, 
The third egg is the Baster egg."] 

They knock at every farmliouse, and are very 
seldom sent away empty-handed. When they 
have collected enough eggs to suit their purpose 
— generally three or four apiece — they boil 
them hard and stain them with two different 
colours, either brown with coffee or red with 
beet-root juice, and then on Baster Day they all 
repair to the meadows carrying their eggs 
with them, and the eiertikken begins. The 
children sit down on the grass and each child 
knocks one of his eggs against that of another in 
such a way that only one of the shells breaks. 
The child whose ^%% does not break wins, and 
becomes the possessor of the broken &%%. 

The strangest of all these begging-customs, 
however, is the one in vogue between Christmas 
and Twelfth Night. Then the children go out 
in couples, each boy carrying an earthenware pot, 
over which a bladder is stretched, with a piece of 
stick tied in the middle. When this stick is 
twirled about, a not very melodious grumbling 
sound proceeds from the contrivance, which is 
known by the name of rommelpot. By going 
about in this manner the children are able to 
collect some few pence to buy bread — or gin— 



I02 Dutch Life 

for their fathers. When they stop before anyone's 
house, they drawl out: " Give me a cent, and I 
will pass on, for I have no money to buy bread." 
The origin both of the custom and song is 
shrouded in mystery.' 

Besides the customs in vogue at such festive 
seasons as Whitsuntide, Easter, and Christmas, 
there are yet others of more everyday occurrence 
which are well worth the knowing. In Overyssel, 
for instance, we find a very sensible one indeed. 
It is usual there, when a family moves to another 
part of the village, or when they settle elsewhere, 
for the people living in the neighbourhood to 
bring them presents to help furnish their new 
house. Sometimes these presents include poultry 
or even a pig, which, though they do not so much 
furnish the house as the table, prove nevertheless 
very acceptable. As soon as all the moving is 
over and they are comfortably installed in their 
new home, the next thing to do is to invite all 
the neighbours to a party. 

This is a very important social duty and ought 
on no account to be omitted, as it entitles host 
and hostess to the help of all their guests in the 
event of illness or adversity taking place in their 
family. If, however, they do not conform to this 

'A Society of Research, into old folk-lore and folk- 
song has recently been founded by some of the leading 
Dutch literary authorities, who also propose to publish 
a little periodical in which all these customs will be 
collected and noted. 



Rural Customs 103 

social obligation, their neighbours and friends 
stand aloof and do not so much as move a finger to 
help them. Should one of the family fall ill, the 
four nearest male neighbours are called in. These 
men fetch the doctor, and do all the nursing. 
They will even watch by the invalid at night, 
and so long as the illness lasts they undertake all 
the farm- work. Sometimes they will go on work- 
ing the farm for years, and when a widow is left 
with young children in straitened circumstances, 
these noodburen (neighbours in need) will help 
her in all possible ways and take all the business 
and worry off her hands. 

In case of a marriage, too, the neighbours do 
the greater part of the preparations. They invite 
the relations and friends to come to the wedding, 
and make ready the feast. The invitations are 
always given by word of mouth, and two young 
men ' closely related to the bride and bridegroom 
are appointed to go round from house to house to 
bid the people come. They are dressed for this 
purpose in their best Sunday clothes, and wear 
artificial flowers and six peacock's feathers in 
their caps. The invitation is made in poetry, in 
which the assurance is conveyed that there will 
be plenty to eat and plenty of gin and beer to 
drink, and that whatever they may have omitted 
to say will be told by the bride and bridegroom 

' In Gelderland we find this same custom and also in 
Friesland, but in this last-named province the invitation 
is given by two young girls. 



I04 Dutch Life 

at tlie feast. This verse in the native patois is 
very curious : 

«'GOEN DAG! 

" Daor stao'k op minen staf, 

En weet niet wat ik zeggen mag ; 
Nou hek me weer bedach 

En weet ik wat ik zeggen mag : 
Hier stiirt ons Gart yan Vente als brugotn 
En Mientje Elschot as de briid, 

Ende' noget uwder iit 

Margen vrog om tien iir 
Op en tonne bier tiene twalevenne, 

Op en anker win, vif, zesse 
En en wanne vol rozinen. 

De' ziilt by Venterboer verschinen 

Met de biisgezeten 

En niims vergeten, 
Vrog kommen en late bliven 

Anders kiin wy 't nie 't op krigen. 
Lustig ezongen, vrolik esprongen, 

Springen met de deide beene, 

En wat ik nog hebbe vergeten 
Zult ow de briigom ende briid verbeten. 
Hej my elk nuw wal verstaan 

Dan laot de fles iim de taofel gaon." 

"GOOD DAY! 
["I rest here on my stick, 

I don't know what to say ; 
Now I have thought of it 

And know what I may say : 
Here sent us Gart van Vente, the bridegroom, 
And Mientje Elschot, the bride, 
To invite you 



Rural Customs 105 

To-morrow morning at ten o'clock 
To empty ten or twelve barrels of beer, 

Five or six hogsheads of wine, 
And a basket full of dried grapes. 
You will come to the house of Venterboer 

With all your inmates 

And forget nobody. 
Come early and remain late, 

Else we can't swallow it all down. 
Then sing cheerfully, leap joyfully, 

Leap with both your legs. 

And, what I have yet forgotten. 
Think of the bridegroom and bride. 
If you have understood me well 

Let pass the bottle round the table."] 

The day before the wedding is to take place the 
bridegroom and some of his friends arrive at the 
bride's house in a cart, drawn by four horses, to 
bring away the bride and her belongings. These 
latter are a motley collection, for they consist not 
only of her clothes, bed, and bed-curtains, but her 
spinning-wheel, linen-press full of linen, and also 
a cow. After everything has been loaded upon 
the cart, and the young men have refreshed them- 
selves with rystebrij (rice boiled with sweet 
milk), they drive away in state, singing as they 
go. The following day the bride is married from 
the house of her parents-in-law, and, as it often 
happens that the young couple live with the 
bridegroom's people, it is only natural that they 
like to have the house in proper order before the 
arrival of the wedding-guests, who begin to appear 



io6 Dutch Life 

as soon as eight o'clock in the morning. When 
all the invited guests are assembled and have 
partaken of hot gin mixed with currants, handed 
round in two-handled pewter cups, kept especially 
for these occasions, the whole party goes about 
eleven o'clock to the Stadhuis, or Town Hall, 
where the couple are married before the Burgo- 
master, and afterwards to the church, where the 
blessing is given upon their union. On returning 
home the mid-day meal is ready, which, on this 
festive occasion, consists of ham, potatoes, and 
salt fish, and the clergyman is also honoured with 
an invitation to the gathering. The rest of the 
day is spent in rejoicings, in which eating and 
drinking take the chief part. The bride changes 
her outer apparel about four times during the 
day, always in public, standing before her linen- 
press. The day is wound up with a dance, for 
which the village fiddler provides the music, the 
bride opening the ball with one of the young 
men who invited the guests, and she then 
presents him with a fine linen handkerchief as 
a reward for his invaluable services on the 
occasion. 

In Friesland a curious old custom still exists, 
called the Joen-piesl, which furnishes the clue 
to an odd incident in Mrs. Schreiner's Story of an 
African Farm. When a man and girl are about to 
be married, they must first sit up for a whole night 
in the kitchen with a burning candle on the table 
between them. By the time the candle is burnt 



Rural Customs 107 

low in its socket, they must have found out 
whether they really are fond of each other. 

The marriage customs in North and South 
Holland are very diflfereut to the former. As 
soon as a couple are aangeteekejid, i. e., when 
the banns are published for the first time (which 
does not happen in church, but takes the form of 
a notice put up at the Town Hall), and have 
returned from the Stadhuis, they drive about 
and take a bag of sweets {bruidsuikers) to all 
their friends. On the wedding-day, after the 
ceremony is over, the bride and bridegroom again 
drive out together in a " chaise " — a high carriage 
on very big wheels, with room for but two per- 
sons. The horse's head, the whip, and the reins 
are all decorated with flowers and coloured rib- 
bons. The wedding-guests drive in couples 
behind the bride and bridegroom's " chaise," and 
the progress is called Speulerydeyi. Sometimes 
they drive for miles across countr}^, stopping 
at every cafe to drink brandy and sugar, and 
when they pass children on the road these call 
out to them: Bruid, bmid, strooi je suikers uit 
("Bride, bride, strew your sugars about"). 
Handfuls of sweets will thereupon be seen flying 
through the air and rolling about the ground, 
while the children tumble over each other in 
their eager haste to collect as many of these 
sweets as they can. Sometimes as much as 
twenty-five pounds of sweets are thus scattered 
upon the roadside for the village children. Such a 



io8 Dutch Life 

wedding is quite an event in the lives of these little 
ones, and they will talk for weeks to come about 
the amount of sweets they were able to procure. 

At Ryswyk, a little village near The Hague, 
and in most villages in Westland, South Holland, 
the bride and bridegroom present to the Burgo- 
master and Wethouders, and also to the Ambtenaar 
van den Btirgerlyken Stand, who marries them at 
the Stadhuis, a bag of these sweets, while one bear- 
ing the inscription, " Compliments of bride and 
bridegroom," is given to the ofl&ciating clergy- 
man immediately after the ceremony in church. 
On their way home all along the road they 
strew suikers out of the carriage windows for 
the gaping crowds. Some of the less well-to- 
do farmers, and those who live near large towns, 
give their wedding-parties at a cafi or uitspan- 
ning. This word means literally a place where 
the horse is taken out of the shafts, but it is also 
a restaurant with a garden attached to it, in 
which there are swings and seesaws, upon which 
the guests disport themselves during the after- 
noon, while in the evening a large hall in the 
building is arranged for the ball, for that is 
the conclusion of everj'- boereji-bruiloft. Very 
often the ball lasts till the cock-crowing, and 
then, if the Bruiloft-houers are Roman Catho- 
lics, it is no uncommon practice first to go to 
church and ' ' count their beads ' ' before they 
disperse on their separate ways to begin the duties 
of a new day. 



i 



Rural Customs 109 

A birth is naturally an occasion that calls for 
very festive celebration. When the child is about 
a week old, its parents send round to all their 
friends to come and rejoice with them. The men 
are invited op een lange pyp en een bitterje, 
the women for the afternoon op suikerdehol. At 
twelve o'clock the men begin to arrive, and 
are immediately provided with a long Gouda 
pipe, a pouch of tobacco, and a cut-glass bottle 
containing gin mixed with aromatic bitters. 
While they smoke, they talk in voices loud 
enough to make anyone who is not acquainted 
with a farmer's mode of speech think that a great 
deal of quarrelling is going on in the house. 
This entertainment lasts till seven o'clock, when 
all the men leave and the room is cleared, though 
not ventilated, and the table is rearranged for the 
evening's rejoicings. 

Dishes of bread and butter, flat buttered rusks 
liberally spread with nitdsjes (sugared aniseed 
— the literal translation is "mice"), together 
with tarts and sweets of all descriptions, are put 
out in endless profusion on all the best china the 
good wife possesses. For each of the guests two 
of these round flat rusks are provided, two being 
the correct number to take, for more than two 
would be considered greedy, and to eat only one 
would be sure to offend the hostess. Bating 
and drinking, for Advocate borrel (brandy and 
eggs) is also served, go on for the greater part of 
the afternoon. The midday meal is altogether 



no Dutch Life 

dispensed with on such a day, and, judging by 
appearances, one cannot say that the guests look 
as if they had missed it ! 

It is quite the national custom to eat rusks 
with mjiisjes on these occasions, and these little 
sweets are manufactured of two kinds. The 
. sugar coating is smooth when the child is a girl, 
and rough and prickly like a chestnut burr when 
the child is a boy ; and when one goes to buy 
muisjes at a confectioner's he is always asked 
whether boys' or girls' muisjes are required. 
Hundreds-and-thousands, the well-known decora- 
tion on buns and cakes in an English pastry- 
cook's shop, bear the closest resemblance to these 
Dutch mtiisjes. 

When a little child is born into a family of the 
better classes, the servants are treated to biscuits 
and ' ' mice ' ' on that day ; while in the very old- 
fashioned Dutch families there is still another 
custom, that of offering Kandeel, a preparation 
of eggs and Rhine wine or hock, on the first day 
the young mother receives visitors, and it is 
specially made for these occasions by the 
baker (nurse). 

Funeral processions are a very mournful sight 
on all occasions, but a Dutch funeral depresses 
one for about a month after. The hearse is all 
hung with black draperies, while on the box sits 
the coachman wearing a large black hat called 
huilebalk. From the rim overlapping the face 
hangs a piece of black cord. This he holds 



^r-:y. 




Rural Customs in 

in his mouth to prevent the hat from falling off 
his head. The hearse itself is generally embel- 
lished by the images of grinning skulls, though 
the carriages following the hearse have no dis- 
tinctive mark. If such a funeral procession hap- 
pens to come along the road you yourself are 
going, you may be sure of enjoying its company 
the whole way, for the horses are only allowed to 
walk, never trot, and it takes hours to get to 
the cemetery. In former days the horses were 
specially shod for this occasion in such a way 
that they went lame on one leg. This end was 
achieved by driving the nail of the shoe into the 
animal's foot, for people thought this added to 
the doleful aspect of the cortege as it advanced 
slowly along the road. Happily, this crueltj^ is 
now dispensed with, and indeed is entirely forbid- 
den by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty 
to Animals, but the ugly aspect of the hearses 
remains the same. 

At a death, the relatives of the deceased have 
large cards printed, announcing the family loss. 
These cards are taken round to every house in 
the neighbourhood by a man specially hired 
for the purpose. This man, called an aanspreker 
carries a list of the names and addresses of the 
people on whom he has to leave cards ; if the 
people sending out the cards have friends in any 
other street of the town, a card is left at every 
house in that street. 

If the deceased was an oflQcer, the cards, besides 



112 Dutch Life 

being sent round in the neighbourhood, are left 
at every officer's house throughout the town. 
To whichever profession the deceased belonged, 
to the people of that profession the cards are sent. 
A Minister of State or any other person occupy- 
ing a very high position sends cards to every 
house in the town and suburbs. 

In a village or country place a funeral is rather 
a popular event, and the preparations for it some- 
what resemble the preparations for a feast. This, 
for instance, is the case in Overyssel. "When one 
of a family dies, the nearest relatives immediately 
call in the neighbouring women, and these take 
upon themselves all the necessary arrangements. 
They send round messages announcing the death 
and day of interment ; they buy coffee, sugar- 
candy, and a bottle of gin, wherewith to refresh 
themselves while making the shroud and dressing 
the dead body ; and the next morning they take 
care that the church bells are duly rung, and, in 
the afternoon, when the relations and friends 
come to offer their condolences, they serve them, 
as they sit round the bier, with black bread and 
coffee. When the plates and cups are empty the 
visitors leave again without having spoken a 
word. 

On the day of the funeral, the guests assemble 
at two o'clock in the afternoon. They first sit 
round the tables and eat and drink in silence, 
and when the first batch have satisfied their ap- 
petites they move away and make room for 



Rural Customs 113 

others. After this meal all walk round the 
coflSn, and repeat one after another, " ^ T was een 
goed mejisch " (" He" or " she was a good man 
or woman," as the case maj^ be). Then the lid of 
the coffin is fastened down with twelve wooden 
pegs, which the most honoured guest is allowed 
to hammer in, and the coffin is forthwith placed 
on an ordinary farm-cart. The nearest relations 
get in, too, and sit on the coffin, and the other 
women on the cart facing the coffin. This custom 
is adhered to, notwithstanding the prohibition by 
law to sit on any conve5^ance carrying a coffin. 
The women are in mourning from tip to toe, and 
closely enveloped in black merino shawls, which 
they wear over their heads. The men follow on 
foot, and it is a picturesque though melancholy 
sight to watch these funeral processions, always 
at close of day, solemnly v/ending their way along 
the road, the dark figures of the women silhouetted 
"^ against a sky all aglow with those glorious sun- 
sets for which Overyssel is famous. 




CHAPTER X 



K;eRMIS AND ST. NICHOLAS 



OF all the festivals and occasions of popular 
rejoicing and merriment in Holland, none 
can compare with the Kermis and the Festival of 
St. Nicholas, which are in many ways peculiarly 
characteristic of Dutch life and Dutch love for 
primitive usage. The Kermis is particularly 
popular, because of the manifold amusements 
which are associated with it, and because it 
unites all classes of the population in the common 
pursuit of unsophisticated pleasure. As its name 
implies, the Kermis {Kerk-mis) has a religious 
origin, being named after the chief part of the 
Church service, the mass. Just as the Feast 
of St. Baro received the name Bamisse, so that 
of the consecration of the church was called 
the " Church -m ass, " or Kerk-mis. In ancient 
times, if a church was consecrated on the name- 
day of a certain saint the church was also dedi- 
cated to that saint. Such a festival was a chief 
festival, or Hoofd -feest, for a church, and it 
was not only celebrated with great pomp and 
solemnity, but amusements of all kinds were 
114 



Kermis and St. Nicholas 115 

added to give the celebration a more festive char- 
acter. In large towns there were Kermissen at 
different times of the year in different parishes, 
for each church was dedicated to a different saint, 
so that there were as many dedicatory feasts in a 
town as there were churches in it. 

At a very early period in the nation's history 
the Church-masses began to wear a more worldly 
character, for the merchants made them an occa- 
sion for introducing their wares and trading with 
the people, just as they did at the ordinary 
" year-markets." These year-markets always 
fell on the same day as the Kermissen, but they 
had a different origin. The)^ were held by per- 
mission of the Sovereign, and were first instituted 
to encourage trade ; but gradually the Kermis 
and the year-market went hand-in-hand, for the 
people could no longer imagine a year-market 
without the Kermis amusements, or a Kermis 
without booths and stalls, so if there was not 
sufficient room for the latter to be built on the 
streets or squares, the priest allowed them to be 
put up in the churchyard or sometimes even in 
the church. Moreover, if it was not possible to 
have the year-market in the same week as the 
Kermis, then the Kermis was put off to suit the 
year-market, and these latter were of great aid to 
the religious festivals, for they attracted a greater 
number of people, and as dispensations were given 
for attending the masses both the churches and the 
markets were benefited. The mass lasted eight 



ii6 Dutch Life 

*'days, and the year-market as long as the Church 
festival. The Church protected the year-markets, 
and rang them in. With the first stroke of the 
Kermis clock, the year-market was opened and 
the first dance commenced, followed by a grand 
procession, in which all the principal people of 
the town took part, and when the last stroke died 
away white crosses were nailed upon all the 
bridges, and on the gates of the town. These 
served both as a passport and also as a token 
of the markt vrede (market peace), so that any- 
one seeing the cross knew that he might enter 
the town and buy and sell ad libitum, also that 
his peace and safety were guaranteed, and that 
anyone who disturbed the markt vi^ede would 
be banished from the place, and not be allowed to 
come back another year. In some places this 
yearly market was named, after the crosses, 
Cruyce-markt, 

Very festive is the appearance of a town in the 
Kermis week. On the opening day at twelve 
o'clock the bells of the cathedral or chief church 
are set ringing, and this is the sign for the booths 
to be opened and the Kermispret to begin. 
Everywhere tempting stores are displayed to 
view, and although a scent of oil and burning fat 
pervades the air, nobody seems to mind that, for 
it only increases the delight the Kermis has in 
store for them. The stalls are generally set out 
in two rows. The most primitive of these is the 
stall of hard-boiled eggs and pickled gherkins, 



Kermis and St. Nicholas 117 

whose owner is probably a Jew, and pleasant" 
sounds his hoarse voice while praising his wares 
high above all others. If he does prevail upon 
you to come and try one of his eggs and gherkins 
it only adds more relish to your meal when he 
tells you of the man who only paid one cent for a 
large gherkin which really cost two, and although 
he already had put it in his mouth he made him 
put the other part back. Or when you go to 
eat poffertjes, which look so tempting, and with 
the first bite find a quid of tobacco in the inoffen- 
sive-looking little morsel, do not let this trifling 
incident disturb your equanimity, but try another 
booth. It is quite worth your while to stand 
in front of a poffertjeskraam and see how they 
are made. The batter is simply buckwheat-meal 
mixed with water, and some yeast to make it 
light. Over a bright fire of logs is placed a large, 
square, iron baking-sheet with deep impressions 
for the reception of the batter. On one side sits a 
woman on a high stool, with a bowl of the mix- 
ture by her side and a large wooden ladle in her 
hand. This she dips into the batter, bringing it 
out full, then with a quick sweep of the arm she 
empties its contents into the hollows of the baking 
sheet. A man standing by turns them dexter- 
ously one by one with a steel fork, and a moment 
later he pricks them six at a time on to the fork ; 
this he does four times to get a plateful, and then 
he hands it over to another man inside the booth, 
who adds a pat of butter and a liberal sprinkling 



ii8 Dutch Life 

of sugar. The wafelkramen are not so largely 
patronised, as the price of these delicacies is 
rather too high for the slender purses of the 
average Kermis houwer, but oliebollen — round, 
ball- shaped cakes swimming in oil — are within 
the reach of all, as they cost but a cent apiece. 
Servants and their lovers, after satisfying their 
appetites with these oliebollen go and have a few 
turns in the roundabouts by way of a change, 
and then hurry to the fish-stall, where they 
eat a raw salted herring to counteract the eflfects 
of the earlier dissipation. The more respectable 
servant, however, turns up her nose at the her- 
rings, and goes in for smoked eel. These fish- 
stalls are very quaint in appearance, for they 
are hung with garlands of dried scharretje (a 
white, thin, leathery-looking fish), which dangle 
in front, and form a most original decoration. 
In the towns a separate day and evening are 
set apart for the servant classes to go to the fair, 
and there is also a day for the elite. 

At the commencement of the reign of King Wil- 
liam III. the whole Court, including the King and 
Queen, used to meet at The Hague Kermis on 
the Lange Voorhout on Thursday afternoons be- 
tween two and four o'clock, and walk up and 
down between the double row of stalls ; and in 
the evening of that day they all visited either the 
njost renowned circus of the season or went to 
see the Kermis stuk, or special play acted iu 
fair-time. 



Kermis and St. Nicholas 119 

The servants' evening, as it is held in Rotter- 
dam, is the most characteristic. It is an even- 
ing shunned by the more respectable people, for 
the Kermisgangers are a very rowdy lot. They 
amuse themselves chiefly by running along the 
streets in long rows, arm-in-arm, singing Hos- 
sen — hosse7t — hossen ! They also treat each 
other to Nietiw rood met suiker — black cur- 
rants preserved in gin with sugar — until they 
are all quite tipsy, and woe to any quiet pedes- 
trian who has the misfortune to pass their way, 
for with loud " Hi-ha's" they encircle him and 
make him hos with them. The evening is 
commonly called the Aalbesseii (black-currant) 
hos. 

An equally curious but not so bad a custom is 
the Groninger Koek eten. All Groningers are 
fond of cake, and the Groninger kaiike is a 
widespread and very tasty production ; but for 
this special purpose is used the ellekoek, a very 
long thin cake, which, as its name implies, is 
sold by the yard. It is very tough, and just 
thin enough to hold in a large mouth, and when 
a man chooses a girl to keep Kermis with him 
they must first see whether they will suit one 
another as Vrijer and Vrijster by eating elle- 
koek. This is done in the following manner. 
They stand opposite one another, and each be- 
gins at an end and eats towards the other. 
They may not touch the cake with their hands, 
but must hold it between their teeth all the while 



I20 Dutch Life 

they are eating, and if they are unable to ac- 
complish this feat and kiss when they get to the 
middle it is a sure sign that they are not suited 
to one another, and so the partnership is not 
concluded. In some parts of Friesland and in 
Voorburg, one of the many villages near The 
Hague, there is another cake custom, the Koek- 
slaan, which is a sort of cake lottery. The 
cakes are all put out on large blocks, which are 
higher at the sides than in the middle, and for 
twopence anyone who likes may try his luck and 
see if he can break the cake in two by striking it 
with a stout stick provided by the stall-keeper for 
the purpose. It is necessary to do this in one 
blow, for a second try involves the payment of 
another fee. He who succeeds carries off the 
broken cake, and receives a second one as a 
prize. Some men are very clever at this, and 
manage to carry off a good many prizes. 

Just as the Kermis is rung in by the bells, so 
also it is tolled out again. This, however, is not 
an ofiScial proceeding, but a custom among the 
schoolboys of the Gymnasium and Higher 
Burgher Schools. At The Hague on the last 
day of the fair all the schooljeugd used to assemble 
in the Lange Voorhout, dressed in black, just as 
they would dress for a funeral, while four of them 
carried a bier, hung with wreaths and black 
draperies. On this bier was supposed to rest all 
that remained of the Kermis. In front of the 
bier walked a boy ringing a large bell, and pro- 



Kermis and St. Nicholas 121 

claiming: De Kermis is dood, de Kermis wordt 
begraven (" The Kermis is dead, and is going 
to be buried"). Behind the bier came all the 
other boys with the most mournful expression 
upon their faces they could muster for the occa- 
sion, and thus they carried the "dead fair" 
through the principal streets of the town, and at 
last buried it in the Scheveningsche Boschjes. 
But this custom is now a thing of the past, for the 
Kermis at The Hague has been abolished, even 
as it has been abolished in most of the other 
towns throughout the kingdom, for all authorities 
were agreed that fair-time promoted vice and 
drunkenness, and the old-fashioned Kermis is 
now only to be found in Rotterdam, lycyden, 
Delft, and some of the smaller provincial towns 
and villages. 

The 6th of December is the day dedicated to 
St. Nicholas, and its vigil is one of the most 
characteristic of Dutch festivals. It is an eve- 
ning for family reunions, and is filled with old 
recollections for the elders and new delights for 
the younger people and children. Just as Eng- 
lish people give presents at Christmas-time, so do 
the Dutch at St. Nicholas, only in a different 
way, for St. Nicholas presents must be hidden 
and disguised as much as possible, and be accom- 
panied by rhymes explaining what the gift is and 
for whom St. Nicholas intends it. Sometimes a 
parcel addressed to one person will finally turn 
out to be for quite a different member of the 



122 Dutch Life 

family than the oue who first received it, for the 
address on each wrapper in the various stages of 
unpacking makes it necessary for the parcel to 
change hands as many times as there are papers 
to undo. The tiniest things are sent in immense 
packing-cases, and sometimes the gifts are baked 
in a loaf of bread or hidden in a turf, and the 
longer it takes before the present is found the 
more successful is the ' ' surprise. ' ' 

The greatest delight to the giver of the parcel is 
to remain unknown as long as possible, and even 
if the present is sent from one member of the 
family to another living in the same house the 
door-bell is always rung by the servant before 
she brings the parcel in, to make believe that it 
has come from some outsider, and if a parcel has 
to be taken to a friend's house it is very often 
entrusted to a passer-by with the request to leave 
it at the door and ring the bell. In houses where 
there are many children, some of the elders dress 
up as the good Bishop St. Nicholas and his black 
servant. The children are always very much 
impressed by the knowledge St, Nicholas shows 
of all their shortcomings, for he usually reminds 
them of their little failings, and gives them each 
an appropriate lecture. Sometimes he makes 
them repeat a verse to him or asks them about 
their lessons, all of which tends to make the mo- 
ment of his arrival looked forward to with much 
excitement and some trembling, for St. Nicholas 
generally announces at what time he is to be ex- 



Kermis and St. Nicholas 123 

pected, so that all may be in readiness for his 
reception. 

On the eventful evening a large white sheet is 
laid out upon the floor in the middle of the room, 
and round it stand all the children with sparkling 
ej^es and flushed faces, eagerly scrutinising the 
hand of the clock. As soon as it points to five 
minutes before the expected time of the Saint's 
arrival they begin to sing songs to welcome him 
to their midst, and ask him to give as liberally as 
was his wont, meanwhile praising his goodness 
and greatness in the most eloquent terms. The 
first intimation the children get of the Saint's 
arrival is a shower of sweets bursting in upon 
them. Then, amid the general scramble which 
ensues, St. Nicholas .suddenly makes his appear- 
ance in full episcopal vestments, laden with pre- 
sents, while in the rear stands his black servant 
with an open sack in one hand in which to put 
all the naughty boys and girls, and a rod in the 
other which he shakes vigorously from time to 
time. When the presents have all been dis- 
tributed, and St. Nicholas has made his adieus, 
promising to come back the following year, and 
the children are packed to bed to dream of all the 
fun they have had, the older people begin to 
enjoy themselves. First they sit round the table 
which stands in the middle of the room under the 
lamp, and partake of tea and speculaas, until 
their own " surprises " begin to arrive. At ten 
o'clock the room is cleared, the dust-sheet which 



124 Dutch Life 

was laid down for the children's scramble is taken 
up, and all the papers and shavings, boxes and 
baskets that contained presents are removed from 
the floor; the table is spread with a white table- 
cloth ; letterbanket and hot punch or milk choco- 
late are provided for the guests ; and when all 
have taken their seats a dish of boiled chestnuts, 
steaming hot, is brought in and eaten with butter 
and salt. 

Cigars, the usual resource of Dutchmen when 
they do not know what to do with themselves, do 
not form a feature of this memorable evening 
(memorable for this fact also), not so much out 
of deference to the ladies who are in their midst 
as for the reason that they are too fully occupied 
with other and even pleasanter employments. 

The personality of St, Nicholas, as now known 
by Dutch children, is of mixed origin, for not 
merely the Bishop of Lycie, but Woden, the 
Frisian god of the elements and of the harvest, 
figures largely in the legends attached to his 
name. Woden possessed a magic robe which 
enabled him when arrayed in it to go to any place 
in the world he wished in the twinkling of an 
eye. This same power is attached to the beste 
tabbaard of St. Nicholas, as may be seen from 
the verse addressed to him : 

" Sint Niklaas, goed, heilig man, 
Trekje beste tabberd an, 
Ryd er mee naar Amsterdam, 
Van Amsterdam naar Spanje." 




."_ siT rn, ..^'' 




Kermis and St Nicholas 125 

[" St. Nicliolas, good, holy man, 
Put on your best gown, 
Ride with it to Amsterdam, 
From Amsterdam to Spain."] 

The horse Sleipnir, on whose back Woden took 
his autumn ride through the world, has been 
converted into the horse of St. Nicholas, on which 
the Saint rides about over the roofs of the houses 
to find out where the good and where the naughty- 
children live. In pagan days a sheaf of corn was 
always left out on the field in harvest-time for 
Woden's horse, and the children of the present 
day still carry out the same idea by putting a 
wisp of hay in their shoes for the four-footed 
friend of the good saint. The black servant who 
now always accompanies St. Nicholas is an im- 
portation from America, for the Pilgrim Fathers 
carried their St, Nicholas festival with them to 
the New Countrj', and some of their descendants 
who came to live in Holland brought Knecht 
Ricpvecht with them, and so added another 
feature to the St. Nicholas festivity. 

What the Dutch originally knew of the life and 
works of Domimis Sandus Nicolaus was told 
them by the Spaniards at the time of their influ- 
ence in Holland, and so it is believed that the 
Saint was born at Myra, in I^ycie, and lived in 
the commencement of the fourth century, in the 
reign of Constantine the Great. From his earliest 
youth he showed signs of great piety and self- 
denial, refusing, it is said, even when quite a 



126 Dutch Life 

tiny child, to take food more than once a day on 
fast days ! His whole life was devoted to doing 
good, and even after his death he is credited with 
performing many miracles. Maidens and children 
chiefly claim him as their patron saint, but he 
also guards sailors, and legend asserts that many 
a ship on the point of being wrecked or stranded 
has been saved by his timely influence. During 
his lifetime the circumstance took place for which 
he was ever afterwards recognised as the maidens' 
guardian. A certain man had lost all his money, 
and to rid himself from his miserable situation he 
determined to sell his three beautiful daughters 
for a large sum. St. Nicholas heard of his inten- 
tion, and went to the man's house in the night, 
taking with him some of the money left him b}'- 
his parents, and dropped it through a broken 
window-pane. The following night St. Nicholas 
again took a purse of gold to the poor man's 
house, and managed to drop it through the chim- 
ney, but when he reached the man's door on the 
third night it was suddenly opened from the in- 
side, and the poor man rushed out, caught St. 
Nicholas by his robe, and falling down on his 
knees before him, exclaimed: " O Nicholas, ser- 
vant of the lyord, wherefore dost thou hide thy 
good deeds ? ' ' and from that time forth everyone 
knew it was St. Nicholas who brought presents 
during the night. 

In pictures one often sees St. Nicholas repre- 
sented with the threefold gift in his hand, in the 



Kermis and St. Nicholas 127 

form of three golden apples, fruits of the tree of 
life. Another very well known Dutch picture is 
St. Nicholas standing by a tub, from which are 
emerging three boys. About fifty years ago such 
a picture was to be seen in Amsterdam on the 
corner house between the Dam and the Damrak, 
with the inscription, Sinterklaes. The story runs 
that three boys once lost their waj^ in a dark 
wood, and begged a night's lodging with a farmer 
and his wife. While the children were asleep the 
wicked couple murdered them, hoping to rob them 
of all they had with them, but they soon dis- 
covered that the lads had no treasure at all, and 
so to guard against detection they salted the dead 
bodies and put them in the tub with the pigs' 
flesh. That same afternoon, while the farmer 
was at the market, St. Nicholas appeared to him 
in his episcopal robes and asked him whether he 
had any pork to sell. The man replied in the 
negative, when St. Nicholas rejoined: " What of 
the three young pigs in your tub?" This so 
frightened the farmer that he confessed his wicked 
deed, and implored forgiveness. St. Nicholas 
thereupon accompanied him to his house, and 
waved his staff over the meat-tub, and immedi- 
ately the three boys stepped forth well and hearty, 
and thanked St. Nicholas for restoring them to 
life. 

The birch rod, which naughty Dutch children 
have still to fear, has also a legendary origin, and is 
not merely an imaginary addition to the attributes 



128 Dutch Life 

of the Saint. A certain abbot would not allow 
the responses of St. Nicholas to be sung in 
his church, notwithstanding the repeated re- 
quests of the monks of his order, and he dismissed 
them at last with the words, " I consider this 
music worldly and profane, and shall never give 
permission for it tp be used in my church. ' ' These 
words so enraged St. Nicholas that he came down 
from the heavens at night when the abbot was 
asleep, and, dragging him out of bed by the hair 
of his head, beat him with a birch rod he carried 
in his hand till he was more dead than alive. 
The lesson proved salutary, and from that day 
forth the responses of St. Nicholas formed a part 
of the service. 

The St. Nicholas festival has always been kept 
with the greatest splendour at Amsterdam. It 
was there that the festival was first instituted, 
and the first church built which was dedicated to 
his name ; for when Gysbrecht III., Heer van 
Amstel, had the Amstel dammed, many people 
came to live there, and houses arose up on all 
sides, anji naturally, when the want of a church 
was felt, and it was built, the good Nicholas was 
chosen the patron Saint of the town. On his 
name-day masses were held in the church, and 
the usual Kermis observed. Booths and stalls 
were set out in two rows all along the Damrak, 
where the people of Amsterdam could buy sweets 
and toys for their children. Special cakes were 
baked in the form of a bishop, and named after 



Kermis and St. Nicholas 129 

St. Nicholas Klaasjes. They were looked upon 
as an offering dedicated to the Saint, accord- 
ing to the old custom of their forefathers, 
which can be again traced to the service of 
Woden. 

Not only Amsterdamers, however, but people 
from all the neighbouring towns flocked to the 
St. Nicholas market, and followed the Amster- 
damers' example of filling their children's shoes 
with cakes and toys, always telling them the old 
legend that St. Nicholas himself brought these 
presents through the chimney and put them in 
their shoes. During and after the Reformation \ 
this now popular festival had to bear a great deal ! 
of opposition, for authors and preachers alike 
agreed that it was a foolish feast, and led to 
superstition and idolatry. Hence the decree was 
issued in the year 1622 that no cakes might be . 
baked and no Kermis held, and even the children 1 
were forbidden to put out their shoes as they | 
were accustomed to do. But for once in a way 
people were sensible enough to understand that 
giving their children a pleasant evening had 
nothing to do either with superstition or idolatry, 
and so the festival lived on with Protestants as 
well as Roman Catholics, although one point was 
gained by the Reformers in that St. Nicholas was 
no longer looked upon as holy and worshipped, 
but was only honoured as the patron Saint and 
guardian of their children. 

The fairs which once belonged to the festival 



I30 Dutch Life 

of St. Nicholas are no longer held in the street, 
at any rate in the larger towns, but the exchange 
of presents is as universal as ever, and the shops 
look as festive as shops in England do at Christ- 
mas-time. In many other ways, indeed, St. 
Nicholas corresponds to Christmas in other coun- 
tries, and Protestants and Catholics alike observe 
it, although there is no religious significance in 
the festival. The season, too, has its special 
cakes and sweets. There are the flat, hard cakes^ 
made in the shapes of birds, beasts, and fishes — 
the so-called Klaasjes — for they are no longer 
baked only in the form of a bishop, as they used 
to be. Then there is leiterbankei, made, as the 
name implies, in the form of letters, so that 
anyone who likes can order his name in cake, 
and the marsepein (marchpane) is now made in 
all possible shapes, though formerly only in 
teart-shaped sweets, ornamented with little turtle- 
doves made of pink sugar, or a flaming heart on 
a little altar. These sweets, it is said, were in- 
vented by St. Nicholas himself when he was a 
bishop for the benefit and use of lovers, for St. 
Nicholas held the ofiice of hylik-maker, and 
many a couple was united by him. That is why 
the confectioners bake vryers and vrysters of 
cake at St. Nicholas time. If a young man 
wanted to find out whether a girl cared for him, 
he used to send her a heart of ma7'sepein and 
a vryer of cake. Should she accept this present 
he knew he had nothing to fear, but if she de- 



Kermis and St. Nicholas 131 

clined to accept it lie knew there was no hope 
for him in that quarter. These large dolls of 
cake were usually decorated with strips of gold 
paper pasted over them, but this fashion has gone 
out of use, and has caused the death of another 
old custom, for it used to be a great treat for 
children and young people to go and help the 
confectioners (who sent all their customers an 
invitation for that evening) on the 4th of Decem- 
ber to prepare their goods for the etalage. 
Any cake that broke while in their hands they 
were allowed to eat, and no doubt many did 
break. 

It is not likely that this celebration of St. 
Nicholas will ever be abolished, and the shop- 
keepers do their best to perpetuate it by offering 
new attractions for the little folk every year. 
Figures of St. Nicholas, life-size, are placed be- 
fore their windows, and some even have a man 
dressed like the good Saint, who goes about the 
streets mounted on a white steed, while behind 
him follows a cart laden with parcels, which have 
been ordered and are left in this way at the dif- 
ferent houses. Crowds of children, singing, 
shouting, and clapping their hands, follow in the 
rear, adding to the noise and bustle of the already 
crowded streets, but people are too good-natured 
at St. Nicholas time to expostulate. Smiling 
faces, mirth, and jollity abound everywhere, and 
good feeling unites all men as brethren on this 
most popular of all the Dutch festivals. 



CHAPTER XI 

NATIONAI, AMUSEMENTS 

HOLLAND, like other countries, is indebted 
to primitive and classic times for most of its 
national amusements and children's games, which 
have been handed down from generation to gen- 
eration. Many of the same games have been 
played under many differing Governments and 
opposing creeds. Hollander and Spaniard, Pro- 
testant and Catholic alike, have found common 
ground in those games and sports which afford so 
welcome a break in daily work. 

Hinkelbaan, for example, found its way into 
the Netherlands from far Phoenicia, whose people 
invented it. The game of cockal, Bikkelen, 
still played by Dutch village children on the 
blue doorsteps of old-fashioned houses, together 
with Kaatsejt, was introduced into Holland by 
Nero Claudius Druses, and it is stated that 
he laid out the first Kaatsbaan. The Frisian 
peasant is very fond of this game, and also of 
Kolven, the older form of golf, and often on a 
Sunday morning after church he may be seen, 
dressed in his velvet suit and low-buckled shoes, 
133 



National Amusements 133 

engaged in these outdoor sports. About a cen- 
tury ago a game called Malien was univer- 
sally played in South Holland and Utrecht. For 
this it was necessary to have a large piece of 
ground, at one end of which poles were erected, 
joined together by a porch. The ball was driven 
by a Malien kolf, a long stick with an iron head 
and a leather grip, and it had to touch both 
poles and roll through the porch. The Malie- 
veld at The Hague and the Maliebaan at Utrecht 
remind one of the places in which this game 
was played. 

In Friesland the Sunday game for youths is 
Het slingere7i met Dimterkoek — throwing De- 
venter cake. Four persons are required to 
play this game. The players divide themselves 
into opposite parties, and play against each other. 
First — they toss up to see which of the parties and 
which of the boys shall begin. He on whom the 
lot falls is allowed to give his turn to his opponent, 
which he often does if, on feeling the cake, he 
notices that it is soft and likely to break easily. 
If, on the contrary, it is hard, he keeps the first 
throw for himself. Holding the cake firmly in 
his right hand, he takes a little run, bends back- 
ward, and with a sudden swing throws the cake 
forward (as one throws a stone) so that it flies 
away a good distance, breaking off just at the 
grip. This piece, called hanslik, or handpiece, 
he must keep in his hand, for if he drops it 
he must let his turn pass by once, and his throw 



134 Dutch Life 

is not counted. The distance of the throw is now 
measured and noted down, whereupon one of the 
opposing party takes the piece of cake and throws 
it, and so it goes on alternately till each has had 
a turn. The distances of the throws of every 
two boys are counted together, and the side which 
has the most points wins. 

There are also games played only at certain 
seasons of the year, as the eiergaaren at 
Kaster-time. This was very popular even in the 
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. On Easter 
Monday all the village people betake themselves 
to the principal street of the dorp to watch 
the eiergaarder. At about two o'clock in the 
afternoon the innkeeper who provides the eggs 
appears upon the scene with a basket con- 
taining twenty-five. These he places on the road 
at equal distances of twelve feet from each other. 
In the middle of the road is then placed a tub of 
water, on which floats a very large apple, the 
largest he has been able to procure. Two men 
are chosen from the ranks of the villagers. The 
one is led to the tub, his hands are tied behind 
his back, and he is told to eat the floating apple ; 
the other has to take the basket in his hand and 
pick up while running all the eggs and arrange 
them in the basket before the apple is eaten. He 
who finishes his task first is the winner, and 
carries off the basket of eggs as a prize. It pro- 
vokes great fun to see the man trying to get hold 
of the floating apple, which escapes so easily from 



National Amusements 135 

the grasp of his teeth, but some men are wise 
enough to push the apple against the side of the 
tub, and of course as soon as they have taken one 
bite the rest is easily eaten. When the game is 
over, the greater number of the villagers go and 
drink to the good health of the winner at the 
public-house, and so the innkeeper makes a good 
thing out of this custom also, and for a game like 
this it is certainly wise to refresh one's s€ii after 
the event. Skittles and billiards are very popu- 
lar with the peasant and working classes on Sun- 
day afternoons, the only free time a labourer has 
for recreation. Games of chance, also, in which 
skill is at a minimum, are as numerous in Hol- 
land as in any other country. 

Children's games naturally occupy a large 
share in young Netherlands life, especially out- 
door romping games. Of indoor games there are 
very few, a fact which may, perhaps, be ac- 
counted for by the custom of allowing children 
to play in the streets. In former days, children 
of all classes played together in outdoor sports 
and games, and developed both their muscles and 
their republican character. Even Prince Frederik 
Hendrik (who was brother to and succeeded 
Prince Maurits in 1625), when at school at lycy- 
den, mixed freely with his more humble com- 
panions, and was often mistaken for an ordinary 
schoolboy, and an old woman once sharply re- 
buked him for daring to use her boat-hook to fish 
his ball out of the water into which it had fallen. 



136 Dutch Life 

Nor did she notice to whom she was speaking 
until a passer-by called her attention to the fact 
that it was the Prince, whereupon the poor old 
soul became so frightened that she durst not 
venture out of her house for weeks from imagin- 
ary fear of falling into the clutches of the law, 
and ending her days in prison. 

Games may be divided into two classes, those 
played with toys and those for which no toys are 
needed ; but whatever the games may be they all 
have their special seasons. Once a man wrote 
an almanack on children's games, and noted 
down all the different sports and their seasons, 
but, as the poet Huggens trul}'^ said, 

" De kindren weten tyd van knickeren en kooten, 
Bn zonder almanack en ist hen nooit ontschoten," 

which, freely translated, means that children 
know which games are in season by intuition, 
and do not need an almanack, so he might have 
saved himself the trouble. " The children know 
the time to play marbles and kooten, and with- 
out an almanack have not forgotten." 

In the eighteenth century, driving a hoop was 
as popular an amusement with children as it is 
now, only then it was also a sport, and prizes 
were given to the most skilful. In fact, hoop- 
races were held, and boys and girls alike joined 
in them. They had to drive their hoops a certain 
distance, and the one who first reached the goal 
received a silver coin for a prize. This coin was 



National Amusements 137 

fastened to the hoop as a trophy, and the more 
noise a hoop made while rolling over the streets 
the greater the honour for the owner of it, for 
it showed that a great many prizes had been 
gained. In Drenthe the popular game for boys 
is Man ik sta op je blokhuis, similar to " I am 
the King of the Castle," but there is also the 
Windspel. For the latter a piece of wood 
and a ball are necessary. The wood is placed 
upon a pole and the ball laid on one side of it, 
then with a stick the child strikes as hard as pos- 
sible the other side of the piece of wood, at the 
same time calling " W-i-n-d," and the ball flies 
up into the air, and may be almost lost to 
sight. 

Boer, lap den buis, an exciting game from a 
boy's point of view, is a general favourite in 
Gelderland and Overyssel. For this the boys 
build a sort of castle with large stones, and after 
tossing up to see who is to be " boer," the boy 
ou whom the lot has fallen stands in the stone 
fortress, and the others throw stones at it from a 
distance, to see whether they can knock bits off 
it. As soon as one succeeds in doing so he runs 
to get back his stone, at the same time calling 
out " Boer, lap den buis,'' signif5dng that the 
" boer " must mend the castle. If the " boer " 
accomplishes this, and touches the bag before the 
other has picked up his stone, they change places, 
and the game begins anew. 

lyittle girls of the labouring classes have not 



138 Dutch Life 

mucii time for games of any sort, for they are 
generally required at liome to act as nursemaids 
and help in many other duties of the home life, 
but sometimes on summer afternoons they bring 
out their younger brothers and sisters, their knit- 
ting, and a skipping-rope, which they take in 
turns, and so pass a few pleasant hours free from 
their share (not an inconsiderable one) of house- 
hold cares, or in the evenings, when the younger 
members of the family are in bed, they will be 
quite happy with a bit of rope and their skipping 
songs, of which they seem to know many hun- 
dreds, and which might be sung with equal reason 
to any other game under the sun for all the words 
have to do with skipping. 

After a long spell of rain the first fall of snow 
is hailed with delight, for it is a sign that frost is 
not far off. Jack Frost, after several preliminary 
appearances in December, usually pays his first 
long visit in January (sometimes, however, this 
is but a flying visit of two or three days), and, as 
a rule, a Dutchman may reckon on a good hard 
winter. As soon, therefore, as he sees the snow 
he thinks of the good old saying — " Sneeuw op 
slik in drie dagenys dun of dik'^ (Snow on mud 
in three days' time, ice thin or thick). Ice is 
to be expected, and he gets out his skates with all 
speed. This is one of the few occasions when the 
people of the Netherlands are enthusiastic. Cer- 
tainly, skating is the national sport. The ditches 
are always the first to be tried, as the water in 



National Amusements 139 

them is very shallow, and naturally freezes sooner 
than the very deep and exposed waters of river 
and canal, over which the wind, which is always 
blowing in Holland, has fair play ; but when 
once these are frozen, then skating begins in real 
earnest. The tracks are all marked out by the 
Hollandsche Ysvereeniging, a society which was 
founded in 1889 in South Holland, and which the 
other provinces have now joined. Finger-posts 
to point the way are put up by this society at all 
cross-roads and ditches, with notices to mark the 
dangerous places, while the newspapers of the 
day contain reports as to which roads are the best 
to take, and which trips can be planned. For 
people living in South Holland the first trip is 
always to the Vink at Ivcyden, as it can be reached 
by narrow streams and ditches, and it is quite a 
sight to see the skaters sitting at little tables 
with plates of steaming hot soup before them. 
The Vink has been famous for its pea-soup many 
years, and has been known as a restaurant from 
1768. When the Galgenwater is frozen (the 
mouth of the Rhine which flows into the sea at 
Katwyk), then the Vink has a still gayer appear- 
ance, for not only skaters, but pedestrians from 
Leyden and the villages round about that town, 
flock to this cafi to watch the skating and enjoy 
the amusing scenes which the presence of the ice 
affords them. Then the broad expanse of water; 
which in summer looks so deserted and gloomy- 
as it flows silently and dreamily towards the sea^ 



HO Dutch Life 

is dotted all over with tents, flags, baanvegers^ 
and, if the ice is strong, even sleighs. 

Among the peasant classes of South Holland it 
is the custom, as soon as the ice will bear, to skate 
to Gouda, men and women together, there to buy- 
long Gouda pipes for the men and Goudsche 
sprits for the women, and then to skate home 
with these brittle objects without breaking them. 
As they come along side by side, the farmer hold- 
ing his pipe high above his head and the woman 
carefully holding her bag of cakes, every passer- 
by knocks against them and tries to upset them, 
but it seldom happens that they succeed in doing 
so, as a farmer stands very firmly on his skates, 
and, as a rule, he manages to keep his pipe intact 
after skating many miles. The longest trip for 
the people of South Holland, North Holland, and 
Utrecht, is through these three provinces, and the 
way over the ice-clad country is quite as pictur- 
esque as in summer-time, the little mills, quaint 
old drawbridges, and rustic farmhouses losing 
nothing of their own charm in winter garb. All 
along the banks of the canals and rivers little 
tents are put up to keep out the wind; a roughly 
fashioned rickety table stands on the ice under the 
shelter of the matting, and here are sold all man- 
ner of things for the skaters to refresh themselves 
with — hot milk boiled with aniseed and served out 
of very sticky cups, stale biscuits, and sweet cake. 
The tent-holders call out their wares in the most 
poetical language they can muster: 



National Amusements 141 

" Leg ereis an ! I^eg ereis an ! 
In het tentje by de man ; 
Warme melk en zoete koek 
En eep bevrozen vaatedoek." 

[" Put up, put up 

At the tent with the man ; 
Warm milk and sweet cake, 
And a frozen dish-cloth."] 

and they tell you plainly that you may expect 
unwashed cups, for the cloth wherewith to wipe 
them is frozen, as well as the water to cleanse 
them. 

Under the bridges the ice is not always safe, 
and even if it has become safe the men break it 
up so that they may earn a few cents by people 
passing over their roughly constructed gangways, 
and so boards are laid down by the baanvegers 
for the skaters to pass over without risking their 
lives. Besides making these wooden bridges the 
baanvegers keep the tracks clean. Kvery hun- 
dred yards or so one is greeted by the mono- 
tonous cry of ^^ Denk ereis an de baam>eger,^^ so 
that on long trips these sweepers are a great nui- 
sance, for having to get out one's purse and give 
them cents greatly impedes progress. The Ice 
Society has, however, minimised the annoyance 
by appointing baanvegers who work for it and 
are paid out of the common funds, so that the 
members of the society who wear their badge 
can pass a baanveger with a clear conscience, 
while as the result of this combination you can 



142 Dutch Life 

skate over miles of good and well-swept ice with- 
out interference for the modest sum of tenpence, 
this being the cost of membership of the society 
for the whole season. 

The Kralinger Plassen and the Maas near 
Rotterdam are greatly frequented spots for carni- 
vals on the ice, but the grandest place for skating 
and ice sports of all kinds is the Zuyder Zee. In 
a severe winter this large expanse of ice connects 
instead of dividing Friesland and North Holland. 
Here we see the little ice-boats flying over the 
glossy surface as fast as a bird on the wing, and 
sleighs drawn by horses with waving plumes, 
while thousands of people flock from Amsterdam 
to the little Isle of Marken, and the variety of 
costume and colour swaying to and fro on the 
fettered billows of the restless inland sea makes 
it seem for the moment as though the Nether- 
lander's dream had come true, and Zuyder Zee 
had really become once more dry land. In win- 
ter everyone, from the smallest to the greatest, 
gives himself up to ice sports, and even the poor 
are not forgotten. In some villages races are 
proclaimed, for which the prizes are turfs, pota- 
toes, rice, coals, and other things so welcome to 
the poor in cold weather. A' racer is appointed 
for every poor family, and where there are no 
sons big enough to join in the races, a young 
man of the better classes generally offers his 
services, and, when successful, hands his prize 
over to the family he undertook to help. 



National Amusements 143 

Skating is second nature with the Dutch, and 
as soon as a child can walk it is put upon skates, 
even though they may often be much too big for 
it. Moreover, when the ice is good, winter-time 
afifords recreation for the working as well as the 
leisured classes, for the canals and rivers become 
roads, and the hard-worked errand-boys, the 
butchers' and the bakers' boys manage to secure 
many hours of delightful enjoyment as they travel 
for orders on skates. The milkman also takes his 
milk-cart round on a sledge, and the farmers 
skate to market, saving both time and money, for 
then there is no railway fare to be paid, and a 
really good skater goes almost as fast as a train 
in Holland — especially the Frisian farmers, for 
Frisians are renowned for their swift skating, and 
the most famous racer of the commencement of 
the nineteenth century, Kornelis Ynzes Reen, 
skated four miles in five minutes. 

But although the ice affords, and alwaj'^s has 
afforded, so much pleasure, there are periods in 
history when the frost caused great anxiety to 
the people of the Netherlands. The cities Naar- 
den and Dordrecht are easily reached by water, 
and when that is frozen it would give anyone 
free access to the town, and so in time of war 
frost was a much-dreaded thing. On one occa- 
sion this fear was realised, for when the ships of 
the Geuzen round about Naarden were stuck fast 
in the ice, and the Zuyder Zee was frozen, the 
enemy, armed with canoes and battle-axes, came 



144 



Dutch Life 



over the ice from the Y and across the Zuyder 
Zee to Naarden. The best skaters among the 
Geuzen immediately volunteered to meet the 
Spaniards on the ice. They took only their 
swords with them, and while the ships' cannon 
had fair play from the bulwarks of the vessels 
over the heads of the Geuzen into the Spanish 
ranks, the Geuzen could approach them fearlessly 
and unmolested for a hand-to-hand fight. The 
Spaniards, who, besides being very heavily armed, 
were very bad skaters, were soon defeated, for 
they kept tumbling over each other. The Geuzen 
pursued them to Amsterdam, and then returned 
to their ships, where they were greeted with great 
enthusiasm, and, as the thaw set in the next day, 
they were happily saved from a renewed attack. 




CHAPTER XII 



MUSIC AND the; the;atr:^ 



SINGING was one of the principal social pas- 
times of the Dutch nation during the eight- 
eenth and far into the nineteenth century, and 
the North Hollander was especially fond of vocal 
music. When young girls went to spend the 
evening at the house of a friend they always 
carried with them their Liederboek — a volume 
beautifully bound in tortoise-shell covers or 
mounted with gold or silver. The songs con- 
tained in these books were a strange mixture of 
the gay and grave. Jovial drinking-songs or 
Kermisliedjes would find a place next to a 
Christian' s Meditation on Death. It was an olla 
podrida in which everybody's tastes were con- 
sidered. Recitations were also a feature of these 
little gatherings. 

Nowadays these national songs are rarely 
heard. French, Italian, and German songs have 
taken their place, and it is but seldom one hears 
a real Dutch song at any social gathering. The 
" people," too, seem to have forgotten their 
natural gift of poetry, for the only songs nov/ 
145 



146 Dutch Life 

heard about the streets are badly translated 
French or English ditties. If England brings 
out a comic song of questionable art, six months 
later that song will have made its way to Hol- 
land, and will have taken a popular place in a 
Dutch street musician's repertoire ; it will be 
whistled in many different kej'^s by butcher and 
baker boys, and will be heard issuing painfully 
from the wonderful mechanism of the superfluous 
concertina. For almost everyone in Holland 
possesses some musical instrument on which he 
plays, well or otherwise, when his daily work is 
over, or on Sunday evenings at home. And here 
a notable characteristic of the Dutch higher 
classes must be mentioned by way of contrast. 
Mu.sical though they are, trained as they gene^ 
rally are both to play and sing well, they yet 
seldom exercise their gifts in a friendly, social,, 
after-dinner way in their own homes. They be- 
come, in fact, so critical or so self-conscious that 
they prefer to pay to hear music rendered by 
recognised artists, and so a by no means incon- 
siderable element of geniality is lost to the social 
and domestic circle. 

The decay of folk-song is the more regrettable, 
since Holland is rich in old ballads, some of 
which, handed down just as the people used to 
sing them centuries ago, are quaint, naive, and 
exceedingly pretty. The melodies have all been 
put to modern harmonies by able composers, an(3 
published for the use of the public. 



Music and the Theatre 147 

" Het daghet in het osten, 
Het liclit is overal," 

is a little jewel of poetic feeling, and the melody is 
very sweet. The story, like most of the songs of 
the past troublous centuries, tells of a battlefield 
where a young girl goes to seek her lover, but 
finds him dead. So, after burying him with her 
own white hands, with his sword and his banner 
by his side, she vows entrance into a convent. 
The story is a picture in miniature of the times, 
and as a piece of literature it ranks high. 

Music of some sort finds a place in the homes 
of the poorest, and the concert, theatre, and opera 
are as much frequented by the humble of the 
land as by the -wealthy and noble born. The 
servant class on their " evening out " frequently 
go to the French opera, and there is not a boy 
on the street but is able to whistle some tune 
from the great modern operas, such as Faust, 
Lohengrin, and other standard works. And no 
wonder, for the choristers in the operas walk be- 
hind fruit-carts all day long, and often call out 
their wares in the musical tones learnt while fol- 
lowing their more select profession as public 
singers. Some, of course, cannot read a note of 
music, and the melodies they have to sing have 
to be drummed, or rather trumpeted, into their 
ears. To this end they are placed in a row, and 
a man with a large trumpet stands before them 
and plays the tune over and over again until they 
know it. In the summer-time whole parties 



148 Dutch Life 

of these Jewish youths — for Jewish they chiefly 
are — go about the woods on their Sabbath day 
singing the parts they take in the operas in the 
winter season, and crowds of people flock to hear 
them, for their voices are really well worth listen- 
ing to. 

Concerts are naturally not so largely patronised 
by the people as are operas and theatres. In the 
larger towns of Holland especially, theatricals 
take a very prominent place in popular relaxation, 
and even the smaller towns and villages, should 
they lack theatres and be unable to get good 
theatrical companies to pay them periodical visits, 
arrange for dramatic performances by local talent. 
The popularity of the opera may be judged from 
the fact that at Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotter- 
dam, Groningen, Arnhem, and Utrecht, operas 
in Dutch and French are regularly given, and, 
occasionally, works in German and even Italian 
are produced. Money is scarce in Holland, the 
people generall}^ have little to spare, so grand 
opera-houses such as are thought necessary in 
most European cities of any pretension to culture 
are impossible, and the singers can seldom count 
on liberal fees. But most of the best works are 
heard all the same — which, after all, is the prin- 
cipal thing — and the enjoyment and edification 
which result are not less genuine because of the 
simplicity of the properties and the humble char- 
acter of the entire surroundings. 

Yet outdoor music possesses a powerful attrac- 



Music and the Theatre 149 

tion for the Dutch humbler classes, as for the 
same classes in most, if not all, countries ; and 
when in the summer-time there is music in the 
Wood at The Hague on Sunday afternoons or 
Wednesday evenings, the walks round about the 
Societ Tent are alive with servants and their 
lovers, parading decorously arm-in-arm. Happy 
fathers, too, with their wives and children in 
vSunday best, perambulate the grounds or rest on 
the seats amongst the trees and listen to the 
Bosch^nusiek. People of the better class only 
are members of the Witte Societeit, and sit in- 
side the green paling to listen to the music and 
drink something meanwhile. F'or it is strange 
but true, that a Dutchman never seems thor- 
oughly to enjoy himself unless he has liquid of 
some sort at hand, and never feels really comfort- 
able without his cigar. Indeed, if smoking were 
abolished from places of public amusement, most 
Dutchmen would frequent them no more. In 
winter, concerts are given every other Wednesday 
at The Hague— and what is true of The Hague 
applies to Amsterdam and all other towns of any 
size in the country — and the Public Hall is 
always packed; but besides these Diligeiitia con- 
certs there are others given by various Singing 
Societies, so that there is variety enough to choose 
from. 

In the summer-time there is another attraction 
besides the Wood for the people of The Hague, 
for the season at Scheveningen opens on the ist 



ISO Dutch Life 

of June, and there is music at the Kurhaus twice 
a day — in the afternoon on the terrace of that 
building, and in the evening in the great hall 
inside. On Friday night is given what is called 
a " Symphony Concert." To this all the world 
flocks, for no one who at all respects himself, or 
esteems the opinion of society, would venture to 
miss it. Whether everyone understands or en- 
jo5^s the high-class music given is another ques- 
tion, which it would be imprudent to press too 
urgently, but then it belongs to " education " to 
go to concerts, and so all enjoy it in their own 
way. For the townspeople and the working- 
classes, who have no free time during the week, 
concerts are given at the large Voorhout on 
Sunday evenings in summer, so that on that day 
even the busiest and poorest may enjoy recreation 
of a better kind than the public-house offers 
them, and this effort on their behalf is greatly 
appreciated by the people, who gladly make use 
of the opportunities of hearing good and popular 
music. 

The national love of music is assiduously fos- 
tered by the Netherlands Musical Union, whose 
branches are to be found all over the country. 
Every town has musical and singing societies of 
some kind — private as well as public — and these 
make life quite endurable in winter, even in the 
smallest places. Nor do these Zangvereenigin- 
gen derive their membership exclusively from 
the higher classes, for the humbler folk have 



Music and the Theatre 151 

organisations of their own. Even the servant- 
girl and the day-labourer will often be found to 
belong to singing clubs of some kind. Music is 
also taught at most of the public schools, though 
it was long before the Government capitulated 
upon the point, and gave this subject a place side 
by side with drawing as part of the normal cur- 
riculum of the children of the people. 

Happily for the musical and dramatic tastes ot 
the nation, both the concert and the theatre are 
cheap amusements in Holland. As a rule, the 
dearest seats cost only from 3^. to 5^. , while the 
cheapest, even in first-class houses at Amsterdam, 
Rotterdam, and The Hague, cost as little as six- 
pence. The only exceptions are when renowned 
artists tour the country, and even then the prices 
seldom exceed ^i for the best places. There is 
one musical event which makes a more serious 
call upon the purse, and it is the periodical opera- 
tic performance of the Wagner Society in Am- 
sterdam. As a rule, two representations a year 
are given, and some of the best singers of Kurope 
are invited to sing in one or other of Wagner's 
operas. The best Dutch orchestra plays, and 
chosen voices from the Amsterdam Conservatoire 
take part in the choruses. The scenery is worthy 
of Bayreuth itself, and such expense and care are 
bestowed upon these choice performances that, 
though the house is invariably filled on every 
occasion, the fees for admission never pay the costs, 
so that the musical enthusiasts of Amsterdam, 



IS2 



Haarlem, and The Hague regularly make up 
the deficit each year, which sometimes amounts 
to as much as ;^iooo. 

While, however, the Dutch may with truth be 
classed as a distinctly musical nation, they would 
seem to have outlived their fame in the domain 
of musical art. For it should not be forgotten 
that Holland has in this respect a distinguished 
history behind it. So long ago as the times of 
Pope Adrian I. a Dutch school of music was 
established under the tuition of Italian masters, 
and it compared favourably with the contempo- 
rary schools of other nations. Even in the ninth 
century Holland produced a composer famous in 
the annals of music in the person of the monk 
Huchbald of St. Amand, in Flanders. He it was 
who changed the notation, and arranged the time 
by marking the worth of each note, and he is 
also remembered for his Organum, the oldest 
form of music written in harmonies. It is often 
lamented that the compositions of to-day lack the 
originality which marked the earlier works. The 
country has none the less produced some notice- 
able composers during the past century. Of these 
J. Verhulst, W. F. G. Nicolai, Daniel de L-ange, 
Richard Hoi, and G. Mann are best known, 
though of no modern composer can it be said that 
he has any special " cachet,''^ for the younger 
men, fed as they are on the works of other 
nations, grow into their style of thinking and 
writing, and follow almost slavishly in their foot- 



Music and the Theatre 153 

steps. It is unfortunate that many rising com- 
posers cannot be persuaded to publish their works. 
The reason is that the cost of publishing in the 
Netherlands is almost fabulous, and if they do 
publish them at all it is done in Germany. But 
even then the circulation is so limited, owing to 
the smallness of the country, that it does not 
repay the cost ; and so they prefer to plod on un- 
known, or to cultivate celebrity by giving private 
concerts of their own works. 




CHAPTER XIII 

SCHOOI^S AND SCHOOL LIFE 

IF the Dutch peasant is not generally well 
educated it is not for want of opportunity, 
but rather because he has not taken what is 
ofifered him. For many years past a good ele- 
mentary education has been within the reach of 
all. Even the small fees usually asked may be 
remitted in the case of those parents who cannot 
aflFord to pay anything, without entailing any 
civil disability; but attendance at school was 
only made compulsory by an Act which passed 
the Second Chamber in March, igoo, and which, 
at the time of writing, has just come into force. 
It is said that as many as sixty thousand Dutch 
children are getting no regular schooling. . About 
one-half of this number live on the canal-boats, 
and will probably give a good deal of trouble to 
those who will administer the new Act ; for, as 
we have already seen, the families that these 
boats belong to have no other homes and are 
always on the move, so that it must ever be diffi- 
cult to get hold of the children, especiallj^ as their 
parents do not see the necessity of sending them 
154 



Schools and School Life 155 

to school. It remains to be seen, therefore, 
whether any great improvement will result from 
the new Act, especially as private tuition may 
take the place of attendance at a school, and ex- 
emption is granted to those who have no fixed 
place of abode, and to parents who object to the 
tuition given in all the schools within two and a 
half miles of their homes. Under these conditions 
it seems that anyone who wishes to evade the 
law will have little difficulty in doing so. The 
canal-boat people, apparently, are exempt so long 
as they do not remain for twenty-eight days con- 
secutively in the same gemeente, or commune. 

The education provided by the State is strictly 
neutral in regard to religion and politics, but 
there are many denominational schools all over 
the country. Protestants call theirs " Bible 
schools," and Romanists call theirs " Catholic 
schools," and both these receive subsidies from 
the State if they satisfy the inspectors. Private 
schools also exist, but do not as a rule receive 
State aid. They are all, however, under State 
supervision and subject to the same conditions 
as to teachers' qualifications ; and a very good 
rule is in force, namely, that no one may teach 
in Holland without having passed a Government 
examination. 

Instruction in the elementary schools supported 
by the Government is in two grades, though the 
dividing line is not always clearly drawn. In 
Amsterdam, for example, there are four difiFerent 



156 Dutch Life 

grades. In the lower schools the subjects taught 
are, besides reading, writing, and arithmetic, 
grammar and history, geography, natural history 
and botany, drawing, singing, and free gymnas- 
tics, and the girls also learn needlework ; but a 
large proportion of the pupils are satisfied with a 
more modest course, and know little more than 
the three R's. The children attending these 
schools are between six and twelve years of age, 
though in some rural districts few of them are 
less than eight years old, but according to the 
new law they must begin to attend when they 
are seven and go on until they are twelve or thir- 
teen according to the standard attained. In the 
upper grade schools the same subjects are taught 
in a more advanced form, with the addition of 
universal history, French, German, and English. 
These languages, being optional, are taught more 
or less after regular school hours. 

All the teachers in these schools must hold 
teachers' or head-teachers' certificates, to gain 
which they have to pass an examination in all 
the subjects which they are to teach except lan- 
guages, for each of which a separate certificate is 
required. Every commune must have a school, 
though hitherto no one has been obliged to at- 
tend it, and lately, owing to the new Education 
Act, the builders have been busy in many places 
enlarging the schools to meet the new require- 
ments. If there are more than forty children 
two masters are now necessary, and for more 



Schools and School Life 157 

than ninety there must be at least three. Ten 
weeks' holidays are allowed in the year, and 
these are to be given when the children are most 
wanted to help at home, in addition to which 
leave of absence may be granted in certain cases 
by the district inspectors. Holidays, therefore, 
vary according to the conditions of the town or 
village. 

All schools are more or less under State con- 
trol. They are divided into three classes accord- 
ing to the type of education which they provide, 
lyower or elementary education has already been 
dealt with. Between this and the higher educa- 
tion of the Gym7iasia and Universities comes 
what is called -middelbaar onderwijs — that is 
secondary, or rather intermediate, education. 
This is represented by technical or industrial 
schools, " Burgher night schools," and " Higher 
burgher schools." The first-named train pupils 
for various trades and crafts, more especially for 
those connected with the principal local industries. 
The course is three years or thereabouts, follow- 
ing on that of the elementary schools, and there 
is generally an entrance examination, but the 
conditions vary in different communes. Some- 
times the instruction is free, sometimes fees are 
charged amounting to a few shillings a year, the 
cost being borne by the communes, and in a few 
towns there are similar schools for girls who have 
passed through the elementary schools. The 
technical classes for girls cover such subjects as 



158 Dutch Life 

fancy-work, drawing and painting of a utilitarian 
character, and sometimes book-keeping and dress- 
making. Most of them are free, but for some 
special subjects a small payment is required. 
Drawing seems to be a favourite subject, and in 
most of these technical schools there are classes 
for mechanical drawing as well as for some kind 
of artistic work connected with industry. In 
addition there are numerous art schools, some 
of them being devoted to the encouragement of 
fine art, while in others the object kept in view 
is the application of art to industry. 

The burgher night schools, like the techni- 
cal schools, are supported by the communes in 
which they are situated. There are about forty 
of them in all, and most of them are ver}'^ well 
attended ; in some cases the regular students, 
who are all working-men and -women, number 
several hundreds. The instruction is similar to 
that given in the technical schools ; that is to 
say, it is chiefly practical, and local industries 
receive special attention. Formerly there were 
day schools also for working-men, on the same 
lines as these, but they were not a success, and 
the technical schools have taken their place. 

Of a higher class, but still included in the 
term middelbaar ojiderwijs, is the ' ' modern ' ' 
education of the higher burgher schools. The 
majority of these schools were founded by the 
communes, the rest by the State, but internally 
they are all alike, and all are inspected by com- 



Schools and School Life 159 

missioners appointed by the Government for the 
purpose. Pupils enter at twelve years of age, 
and must pass an entrance examination, which,' 
like nearly every examination in Holland, is a 
Government affair. Having passed this, ' they 
attend school for five years, as a rule, but at 
some of these institutions the course lasts only 
three years. In some degree the higher burgher 
schools correspond to the modern side of an 
Knglish school : at least the subjects are much 
the same, embracing mathematics, natural 
science, modern languages, and commercial sub- 
jects ; and no I,atin or Greek is taught. The 
education is wholly modern and practical, with 
the object of preparing pupils for commercial life. 
There are higher burgher schools for girls as 
well as for boys, at which nearly the same educa- 
tion is provided. 

A great advantage of these schools is that they 
are very cheap; at the most expensive the yearly 
fees amount to a little more than thirty pounds, 
but at the majority they only come to four or 
five. To teach in such schools as these one must 
have a diploma or a University degree. A sepa- 
rate diploma is necessary for each subject, and 
the examination is not easy. Even a foreigner 
who wishes to teach his own language must pass 
the same examination as a Dutchman. No differ- 
ence is made between the masters at the boys' 
schools and the ladies who teach the girls; exactly 
the same diplomas are required in both cases. 



i6o Dutch Life 

The Gymnasia to whicli allusion has been 
made are classical schools, which prepare boys for 
the Universities. The age of entry is the saine 
as at the modern schools, twelve ; but the course 
is longer, as a rule covering six years instead of 
five, and at the end of this course comes a Gov- 
ernment examination, the passing of which is a 
necessary preliminary to a University degree. 
The Gymnasia were founded by an Act of 
Parliament, but are supported by the communes, 
which in this case are the larger towns, but they 
are assisted as a rule by a Government grant. 
The fees are very small, only about ^8 a year. 

There are a few private and endowed schools, 
which may send up candidates for the same 
examinations as are taken by the pupils of the 
State schools, and it is among these that we find 
the only boarding schools in the country. Some 
of these have certain privileges ; for instance, the 
headmaster may engage assistants who do not 
hold diplomas, which makes it easier for him to 
get native teachers for modern languages ; but 
in the State schools proper, the selection of under- 
masters does not rest with the head, or director, 
as he is called, at all. Foreign teachers are not 
very plentiful, as the diplomas are not easy to 
get, and a native, who has to re-learn much of 
his own language from a Dutch point of view, 
has little or no advantage over a Dutchman in 
the examinations. 

No sketch of Dutch schools would be complete 



Schools and School Life i6i 

without some reference to the way in which 
modern languages are studied, for this is the 
most striking feature in the national education, 
and is of great importance when we are consider- 
ing the national life and character of Holland. 
Former generations of Dutchmen won a place 
among the "learned nations" by their know- 
ledge of the classical languages ; and their de- 
scendants seem to have inherited the gift of 
tongues, but make a more practical use of it. 
French, German, Knglish, and Dutch, which go 
by the name of de vier Talen, or ' ' the four 
languages," have taken the place of Greek and 
lyatin. In the Gymnasia every pupil learns to 
speak them as a matter of course, and in the 
higher burgher schools the same languages 
receive special attention, with a view to commer- 
cial correspondence. Kven in the upper element- 
ary schools, boys and girls are taught some or 
all of them. A boy entering one of the higher 
schools at the age of twelve or thirteen generally 
has some knowledge of, at least, one foreign lan- 
guage, acquired either at an elementary school, 
or at home, and he is never shy of displaying 
that knowledge. If his parents are well off, he 
has probably learned to speak French or English 
in the nursery, and it sometimes happens that he 
even speaks Dutch with a French or an Knglish 
accent, having been brought up on the foreign 
language and acquired his native tongue later. 
German as a rule is not begun so soon, the idea 



1 62 Dutch Life 

being that its resemblance to Dutch makes it 
easier, which is no doubt true to a certain extent. 
The result, however, is very often that the easiest 
language of the three is the one least correctly- 
spoken. 

As in all Continental countries, there is nothing 
in Holland corresponding to the English public 
school system. The Gymnasia prepare boys 
for the Universities, and the higher burgher 
schools train them for commercial life and some 
professions, somewhat in the same way as English 
modern schools, but there the resemblance ends. 
As a rule, a Dutch boy's school life is limited to 
the hours he spends at lessons ; the rest of the 
day belongs rather to home life. There are a few 
boarding schools in Holland, but the life in such 
schools in the two countries is different in almost 
every respect. The size of the schools may have 
something to do with this, though by itself it is 
not enough to account for the difference. A 
Dutch head-master once drew my attention to 
the lack of tradition in his own and other schools 
in the country, and expressed a hope that time 
might work a change. At present there is little 
sign of such a change. Tradition has hardly had 
time to grow up yet, for few of the existing 
schools are much more than twenty years old, 
and its growth is retarded by the small numbers, 
which make any widespread freemasonry among 
old boys impossible. But there is another and 
more serious obstacle. The uniform control which 



Schools and School Life 163 

the Government exercises over all schools alike, 
State, endowed, or private, whatever advan- 
tages it may have, certainly hinders the de- 
velopment of that individuality which makes 
" the old school," to many an English boy, some- 
thing more than a place where he had lessons to 
do and was prepared for examinations. 

A rough sketch of the inside of a Dutch school 
will doubtless be of interest. One of the few 
endowed schools in Holland may be taken as 
fairly typical of its class, but not of the State 
schools, though it competes with these and com- 
bines the classical and modern courses. It lies 
in the country, near a small village, and in this 
respect also differs' from the Gymnasia and higher 
burgher schools, which are all situated in the 
larger towns. 

One of the first things which attracts notice is 
the large number of masters. It seems at first 
that there are hardly enough boys to go round. 
This is due to the law which requires that every 
master must be qualified to teach his particular 
subject either by a University degree or by an 
equivalent diploma. Few hold more than two 
diplomas, and consequently much of the teaching 
is done by men who visit this and other schools 
two or three times a week. In this particular 
foundation the three resident masters are foreign- 
ers, but such an arrangement is exceptional. 
Classes seldom include more than half a dozen 
boys, and very often pupils are taken singly, and 



i64 Dutch Life 

therefore each boy receives a good deal of indi- 
vidual attention. Such a school is divided into 
six forms or classes, but not for teaching purposes ; 
the day's work is differently arranged for each 
boy, and these classes merely record the results 
of the last examination. Some of the lessons last 
for an hour, but the rest are only three-quarters 
of an hour long ; they make up in number, how- 
ever, what they lack in length, amounting to 
about nine and a half hours a day. Owing to the 
time being so much broken up, it may be doubted 
whether the amount of work done is any greater 
here than in an average E^nglish school where the 
aggregate of working hours is considerably less. 
Amongst our Dutch friends, however, and there 
may be others who share their opinion, the gen- 
eral belief is that English schoolboys learn very 
little except athletics. 

With regard to sports and pastimes, these are 
the only schools in which any interest is taken or 
encouragement given therein. Football is played 
here on most half-holidays during the winter, and 
sometimes on Sunday, and occasionally its place 
is taken by hockey. It must be admitted that the 
standard of play is not very high in either game, 
though many of the boys work hard and, with 
better opportunities, might develop into high- 
class players ; but as there are only about thirty 
boys in the school, competition for places in the 
teams is not very keen. Rowing has lately been 
introduced, not to the advantage of the football 



Schools and School Life 165 

eleven. It may be remarked, by the way, that 
only Association football is played in Holland ; 
the Rugby game is strictly barred by head-mas- 
ters and parents as too dangerous. Attempts 
have been made to introduce cricket, but the 
game meets with little encouragement. There is 
a lawn-tennis court, however, which is constantly 
in use during the summer term. Bicycling is 
very popular, not only here but in Holland gen- 
erally ; in fact, most of the boys seem to prefer 
this form of exercise to any of the games which 
have been mentioned. 

Whether at work or play, all the boys are under 
the constant supervision of one or other of the 
resident masters, and the head is not far off. A 
few of the seniors are allowed to go outside the 
grounds when they please, but the rest may only 
go out under the charge of a master. In spite of 
this apparently strict supervision, however, there 
is not much real discipline. Corporal punishment 
is not allowed ; both public opinion and the law of 
the land are against it. Other punishments, 
such as detention and impositions, are ineffectual, 
and are generally regarded by the culprit as un- 
justly interfering with his liberty. Consequently 
the masters have not much hold over the boys, 
who might, if they chose, perpetrate endless 
mischief without fear of painful consequences so 
long as they did nothing to warrant expulsion ; 
but the young Hollander does not appear to have 
much enterprise in that direction. Perhaps he is 



1 66 Dutch Life 

sometimes kept out of mischief by his devotion 
to the fragrant weed, for he generally learns to 
smoke at a tender age, with his parents' consent, 
and no exception is taken to his cigar except 
during lessons; but it is certainly startling to see 
the boys smoking while playing their games, as 
well as on all other possible occasions. 

A large proportion of the boys at the Gym- 
nasia, perhaps the majority of them, pass on to 
the Universities, some to qualify for the learned 
professions, others because it is the fashion in 
Holland as in other countries for young men who 
have no intention of following any profession to 
spend a few years at a University in search of 
pleasure and experience ; but the experience in 
this case is peculiar and unique. 




CHAPTER XIV 

THE UNIVERSITIES 

AS to the Universities themselves, it is not 
necessary to consider them separately, as 
all four of them, lyeyden, Groningen, Utrecht, 
and Amsterdam, are alike in constitution. They 
are not residential, there are no beautiful build- 
ings, there are no rival colleges, no tutors or 
proctors, and no " gate " ; nor are they independ- 
ent corporations like Oxford and Cambridge and 
Durham, for, though they retain some outward 
forms which recall a former independence, they 
are now maintained and managed entirely by the 
State, which pays the professors and provides 
the necessary buildings. The subjects to be 
taught and the examinations to be held in the 
various faculties are laid down by statute. Con- 
sequently the Universities show the same want 
of individuality as the schools, and, to an out- 
sider at least, there seems to be nothing of the 
"Alma Mater" about them under the present 
rigime, and no real ground for preferring any one 
of them to the others. At the same time, fathers 
usually send their sons to the Universities at 
167 



1 68 Dutch Life 

which they themselves have studied, except when 
they and the professors happen to hold very dif- 
ferent political opinions, but such a custom may 
be due as much to the national love of order and 
regularity as to any real attachment to a particu- 
lar University. As to the political opinions of 
professors, their influence on the students cannot 
be very great in the majority of cases, being 
limited to the effect produced by lectures, for 
there is no social intercourse between teacher and 
taught. The professors, though very learned 
men, do not enjoy any great social standing, and 
the title does not carry with it anything like the 
same rank as in some other countries. 

The system on which these Universities work 
may be a sound and logical one so far as it goes, 
and more up-to-date than the English residential 
system, which its enemies deride as mediaeval 
and monastic ; but it is a cast-iron system, de- 
signed with the object of preparing men for 
examinations, and one which does nothing to 
discover promising scholars or to encourage 
original work and research among those who 
have taken their degrees, or, according to the 
Dutch phrase, have gained their " promotion." 
There are no scholarships, nor anything that 
might serve the same purpose, though some such 
institution could hardly find a more favourable 
soil than that of Holland. Instruction of a very 
learned and thorough character is offered to those 
who will and can receive it, and that is all. The 



The Universities 169 

classes are open to all who pay the necessary fees, 
which are trifling, though the degree of Doctor 
may only be granted to those who have passed 
the Gymnasium final or an equivalent exam- 
ination, and, provided he makes these payments, 
a student is free to do as he pleases, so far as his 
University is concerned. 

Discipline there is none, except in very rare 
cases, when the law provides for the expulsion of 
offenders ; only theological candidates are in- 
directly restrained from undue levity by having 
to get a certificate of good conduct at the end 
of their course. There is no chapel to keep, for 
the student's religion and morals are entirely his 
own concern; there are no " collections," for if 
a man does not choose to read he injures no one 
but himself by his idleness ; and there is no Vice- 
Chancellor's Court, for, in theory, students are on 
the same footing as other people before the law, 
though in practice the police seldom interfere 
with them more than they can help. It is not 
surprising that young men not long from school 
should sometimes abuse such exceptional free- 
dom, but their ideas of enjoyment are rather 
strange in foreign eyes. One of their favourite 
amusements seems to be driving about the town 
and neighbourhood in open carriages. On special 
occasions all the members of a club turn out, 
wearing little round caps of their club colours, 
and accompanied as likely as not by a band, and 
drive off in a procession to some neighbouring 



I70 Dutch Life 

town, where they dine ; in the night or next 
morning they return, all uproariously drunk, 
singing and shouting, waving flags and flinging 
empty wine-bottles about the road. I do not 
wish to imply that all Dutch students behave in 
this way, but such exhibitions are unfortunately 
not uncommon, and show to what lengths " free- 
dom ' ' is permitted to go. 

There is a limit, however, even to the liberty 
of students, as appears from the following anec- 
dote. One of these young men gave a wine-party 
in his lodgings, and someone proposed, by way 
of a lark, to wake up a young woman who lived 
in the house opposite, and fetch her out of bed, 
so a rocket was produced and fired through the 
open window. The bombardment had the de- 
sired efiect, but it also set the house on fire, and 
the joker's father was called on to make good the 
damage. Then the police took the matter up, 
and the culprit got several weeks' imprisonment 
for arson, after which he returned to the Univer- 
sity and resumed his interrupted studies. There 
was no question of rustication, as the court simply 
inflicted the penalty laid down in the Code, and 
there was no other authority that had power to 
interfere in the matter at all. 

As may well be imagined, students are not 
generally popular with the townsfolk, who resent 
the unequal treatment of the two classes, not be- 
cause they wish for the same measure of licence, 
but because anything like rowdiness contrasts 



The Universities 171 

strongly with their own habits; and extravagance, 
not an uncommon failing among students in Hol- 
land or elsewhere, is absolutely repugnant to the 
average Dutch citizen. This feeling of resent- 
ment seems to be growing, and has already had 
some slight effect upon the civil authorities ; if 
the students find some day that they have lost 
their privileged position, they will have only 
themselves to thank, and certainly the change 
will do them no harm. 

But though a certain number go to the Univers- 
ities merely to amuse themselves or to be in the 
fashion, most of them work well, even if they do not 
attend lectures regularly all through their course. 
In some faculties private coaching oif ers a quicker 
and easier way to ' ' promotion ' ' than the more 
orthodox one through the class-rooms. No doubt 
there are some who are in no hurry to leave the 
attractions of student life, but not many cling to 
them so persistently as a certain Dutch student, 
to whom a relative bequeathed a liberal allow- 
ance, to be paid him as long as he was studying 
for his degree. He became known as " the eter- 
nal student, ' ' to the great wrath of the heirs who 
waited for the reversion of his legacy. For most 
men the ordinary course is long enough, for it 
averages perhaps six or seven years, though 
there is no fixed time, and candidates may take 
the examinations as soon as they please. The 
nominal course — that is, the time over which the 
lectures extend — varies in the different faculties, 



172 Dutch Life 

from four years in law to seven or eight in medi- 
cine, but very few men manage, or attempt, to 
take a degree in law in four years. The other 
faculties are theology, science, including mathe- 
matics, and literature and philosophy. 

The degree of Doctor is given in these five 
faculties, and to obtain it two examinations must 
be passed, the candidate's and the doctoral. 
After passing the latter a student bears the title 
dodorandus until he has written a book or thesis 
and defended it viva voce before the examiners. 
He is then " promoted" to the degree, a cere- 
mony which generally entails, indirectly, a cer- 
tain amount of expense. It appears to be the 
correct thing for the newly-made doctor to drive 
round in state, adorned with the colours of his 
club and attended by friends gorgeously disguised 
as lackeys, and leave copies of his book at the 
houses of the professors and his club-fellows, after 
which he, of course, celebrates the occasion in the 
invariable Dutch fashion, with a dinner. Many 
students, however, are not qualified to try for a 
degree, not having been through the Gym- 
nasia, and others do not wish to do so. Some- 
times the candidate's examination qualifies one 
to practise a profession, and is open to all ; in 
other cases, in the faculty of medicine for 
example, it gives no qualification, and is only 
open to candidates for the degree, but then there 
is another, a ' ' professional ' ' examination, for 
those who do not aim at the ornamental title. 



The Universities 173 

The cost of living at the Universities naturally 
depends very much on the student's tastes and 
habits. He pays to the University only 200 
florins (;^i6 135. 4^.) a year for four years, after 
which he may attend lectures free of charge, so 
the minimum annual expenditure is small; but it 
should be borne in mind that the course is about 
twice as long as in England. A good many 
students live with their families, which is cheaper 
than living in lodgings ; and as nearly all classes 
are represented, there is a considerable difference 
in their standards of life. Some are certainly 
extravagant, as in all Universities, which tends 
to raise prices, but, on the other hand, many of 
them are men whose parents can ill afford the 
expense, but are tempted by the value which 
attaches to a University career in Holland, and 
these bring the average down. Between these 
two extremes there are plenty who do very well 
on ^150 or so a year, and ^200 is probably con- 
sidered a sufficiently liberal allowance by parents 
who could easily afford a larger sum. Even the 
students' corps need not lead to any great ex- 
pense, as it consists of a number of minor clubs, 
and nearly everyone joins it, so that the pace is 
not always the same ; students who wish to keep 
their expenses down naturally join with friends 
who are similarly situated, leaving the more 
extravagant clubs to the young bloods who have 
plenty of money to spare. 

The corps is the only tie which holds the stu- 



174 Dutch Life 

dents together where there are no colleges and ath- 
letics play but a very small part. Bach University 
has its corps, to which all the students belong ex- 
cept a few who take no part in the t5^pical student 
life, and are known as the boeven, or "knaves." 
A Rector and Senate are elected annually from 
among the members of four or five years' standing 
to manage the affairs of the corps. In order to 
become a member, a freshman, or " green," as 
he is called in Holland, has to go through a 
rather trying initiation, which lasts for three or 
four weeks. Having given in his name to the 
Senate, he must call on the members of the corps 
and ask them to sign their names in a book, 
which is inspected by the Senate from time to 
time, and at each visit he comes in for a good 
deal of " ragging," for, as he may not go away 
until he has obtained his host's signature, he is 
completely at the mercy of his tormentors. If he 
does not obey their orders implicitly and give any 
information the}'" may require about his private 
affairs, he is likely to have a bad time, but as long 
as he is duly submissive he is generally let oflf 
with a little harmless fooling. One " green," a 
shy and retiring youth, who did not at all relish 
the impertinent inquiries which were made into 
his morals and family history, was made to stand 
at the window and give a full and particular ac- 
count of himself to the passers-by, with interest- 
ing details supplied by the company. Sometimes, 
however, the joking is more brutal and less amus- 



The Universities 175 

ing. For instance, as a punishment for shirking 
the bottle, the victim was compelled to kneel on 
the floor with a funnel in his mouth, while his 
tormentors poured libations down his throat. 

When the " green time " is over the new mem- 
bers of the corps are installed by the Rector, and 
drive round the town in procession, finishing up, 
of course, with a club dinner. The corps has its 
headquarters in the Students' Club, which corre- 
sponds more or less to the ' ' Union " at an Eng- 
lish University, though differing from the latter 
in two important respects : first, there are no de- 
bates, and secondly, the members are exclusively 
students, for, as I have already noticed, there is 
no social intercourse between the professors and 
their pupils. The reading-rooms at the club are 
a favourite lounge of a great many of the students, 
but it must be admitted that the literature sup- 
plied there is not always of a very wholesome 
kind, seeing that it includes " realism " of the 
most daring description, with illustrations to 
match, and obscene Parisian comic papers. 
Kvery member of the corps also belongs to one 
of the minor clubs of which it is made up, and 
which are apparently nothing more than messes, 
very often with only a dozen members, or less. 

A few sport clubs exist, also under the control 
of the corps, but they do not play a very promi- 
nent part, for the taste for athletic exercises is 
confined to a small minority. Considering the 
small number of players, the proficiency attained 



176 Dutch Life 

in the exotic games of football and hockey is 
surprisingly high. The rowing is even better, 
and attracts a large number, being perhaps more 
suited to the physical characteristics of the race 
than those games for which agility is more neces- 
sary than weight and strength. Boat-races are 
held annually between the several Universities, 
in which the form of the crews is generally very 
good. If I am not mistaken, some of the Dutch 
crews that have rowed at Henley represented 
University clubs. The typical student, however, 
though well enough endowed with bone and 
muscle, has no ambition whatever to become an 
athlete, or to submit to the fatigue and self-denial 
of training. Probably the way he lives and his 
aversion to athletics, more than the length of his 
course of study, account for his elderly appear- 
ance, for he is not only obviously older than the 
average undergraduate, but begins to look posi- 
tively middle-aged both in face and figure almost 
before he has done growing. 

Before leaving the subject of the students' 
corps, mention must be made of the great carni- 
val which each corps holds every five years to 
commemorate the foundation of its University. 
The Lustrum- Maskerade, which is the chief 
item in the week of festivities, is a historical 
pageant representing some event in the mediaeval 
history of Holland. The chief actors are chosen 
from among the wealthiest of the students, and 
spare no trouble or expense in preparing their 



The Universities 177 

get-up, while the minor parts are allotted to the 
various clubs within the corps, each club repre- 
senting a company of retainers or men-at-arms in 
the service of one of the mock princes or knights. 
For six days the players retain their gorgeous 
costumes and act their parts, even when excur- 
sions are made in the neighbourhood in company 
with the friends and relatives who come to join in 
the commemoration, and the mixture of mediseval 
and modern costumes in the streets has a some- 
what ludicrous effect. On the first day the visit- 
ors are formally welcomed by the officers of the 
corps. Former students of all ages meet their 
old comrades, and the men of each year, after 
dining together, march together to the garden or 
park where the reception is held. Anything less 
like the usual calm and serious demeanour of these 
seniors than the way in which they dance and sing 
through the town is not to be imagined, for the 
oldest and most sedate of them are as wildly and 
ludicrously enthusiastic as the youngest student; 
and their arrival at the reception, with bands of 
niusic, skipping about and roaring student-songs 
like their sons and grandsons, is, to say the least, 
comical. But the occasion only comes once in five 
years, and they naturally make the most of it. 

^ The next day the Masquerade takes place, be- 
ginning with a procession to the ground, and is 
repeated two or three times before huge crowds of 
spectators, for the townsmen are as excited as the 
students and the relatives, at least on the first two 



178 Dutch Life 

days. Great pains are always taken to ensure 
historical correctness in every detail, and the 
leading parts are often admirably played, and it 
must be the unromantic dress of the lookers-on 
that spoils the effect and makes one think of a 
circus. If only the crowd could be brought into 
harmony with the masqueraders in the matter of 
clothes the illusion might be complete ; as it is, 
one can hardly imagine for a moment that the 
knights who charge so bravely down the lists 
mean to do one another any serious damage. A 
tournament is very often the subject of the page- 
ant, or an important part of it, or sometimes a 
challenge and single combat are introduced as a 
sort of eritfade. For the last four days of the 
feast there is no fixed order of procedure ; balls, 
concerts, garden-parties, and so on are arranged 
as may be most convenient, while the intervals 
are spent in visits, dinners, and drives. Not 
until the end of the week does any student lay 
aside his ga)'- costume and resume the more pro- 
saic garments of his own times. All through the 
week the influence of the corps, which is the life 
of the University from the student's point of view, 
is manifest in the collective character of all the 
festivities, everything being done either by the 
corps itself or under its direction. From a com- 
parison of this celebration with " Commence- 
ment" week we can, perhaps, gather a very fair 
idea of the tj'-pical points of difference between the 
students of Holland and of England. 



CHAPTER XV 



ART AND I,:^TTERS 



THE art of a country is ever in unity with the 
character of the people. It reflects their 
ideas and sentiments ; their history is marked in 
its progress or decline ; and it shows forth the 
influences that have been at work in the minds 
and very life of the nation from which it springs. 
If this is true of all countries, it is nowhere so 
visibly true as in Holland. There art underwent 
the most decided changes during the various 
periods of war and armed peace through which 
the little country passed. It may trul^' be said 
that " the first smile of the young Republic was 
art, for it was only after the revolt of the Dutch 
against the Spanish . . . that painting reached 
a high grade of perfection. ' ' One is accustomed 
to take it for granted too readily that the glory of 
Dutch art lies in the past ; that the works and 
fame of a Van Eyck, a Rubens, Rembrandt, Van 
Dyck, and Ruysdael sum up Holland's contribu- 
tion to the art of the world, and that this chapter 
of its history, like the chapters which deal with 
its maritime supremacy, its industrial greatness, 
179 



i8o Dutch Life 

and its struggles for liberty, is closed forever. 
Nothing could be farther from the fact. Dutch 
art was never more virile, more original, more 
self-conscious than to-day, when it is represented 
by a band of men whose genius and enthusiasm 
recall the great names of the past. Professor 
Richard Muther has well said, in his History of 
Modern Painting, that, " So far from stagnating, 
Dutch art is now as fresh and varied as in the old 
days of its glory. ' ' 

The Dutch painters of the present day include, 
indeed, quite a multitude of men of the very first 
rank, and some of them, like the three brothers 
Maris, are unexcelled. Jacob Maris, who died so 
recently as 1890, was known for his splendid land- 
scapes, and still more for his town pictures and 
beach scenes. Willem Maris has a partiality for 
meadows in which cattle are browsing in tranquil 
content. Thys Maris has a very different style. 
He paints grey and misty figures and landscapes 
all hazy and scarcely visible. His love of the 
obscure and the suggestive led to the common 
refusal of his portraits by patrons, who complained 
that they lacked distinctness. No painter, how- 
ever, commands such large prices as he, and from 
^2000 to ^3000 is no rare figure for his canvases. 

H. W. Mesdag is Holland's most celebrated 
sea-painter. He pictures the ever-rolling ocean 
with marvellous power, and carries the song of 
the waves and the cry of the wild sea-birds into 
his great paintings, which speak to one of the life 



Art and Letters i8i 

and toil of the fishermen, the never-weary waters, 
and the ever- varying aspects of sea and sky. In 
this domain he is unrivalled, and he has certainly 
done some magnificent work. Mesdag has an 
exhibition of his own works every Sunday morn- 
ing in his studio at The Hague, and anyone who 
wishes is allowed to visit it, while for the general 
public's benefit there is the Mesdag Panorama in 
the same town. 

Mauve, who died in 1887, was best known for 
his pastoral scenes. His pictures of sheep on the 
moors and fens recall pleasant memories of sum- 
mer days and sunny hours. 

Josef Israels went largely to the life of fishermen 
for his motives, though one of his best-known 
works is that noble one, David before Saul. 

Bosboom one naturally associates with church 
interiors, wonderfully well done ; Blommers, Artz, 
and Bles, likewise paint interiors, the first two 
choosing their subjects by preference from the 
houses of the working classes, while Bles confines 
himself to the dwellings of the wealthy. 

Bisschop is unquestionably the best of the 
Dutch portrait-painters, though his still life is 
considered even more artistic than his portraits. 
The foremost of the lady portrait and figure 
painters is Therese Schwartze, who, like Josselin 
de Jong, often takes Queen Wilhelmina as a 
grateful subject for her brush. 

The foregoing may be regarded as painters of 
the old school, though every one has so much 



1 82 Dutch Life 

originality as to be virtually the initiator of a 
distinct direction. The newer schools are repre- 
sented by men like J. Toorop, Voerman, Verster, 
Camerlingh Onnes, Bauer, and Hoytema. 

Toorop is the well-known symbolist. His style 
is Oriental rather than Dutch, and his topics for 
the most part are mystical in character. He is 
famous also for his decorative art. This many- 
sided man is probably the greatest artist soul in 
Holland. He is expert in almost every domain 
of art. Etching, pastel and water-colour drawing, 
oil-painting, wood-cutting, lithography, work- 
ing in silver, copper, and brass, and modelling 
in clay, belong equally to his accomplishments, 
though as a painter he is, of course, best known. 

Voerman, once known for his minutely painted 
flowers, is now a pronounced landscape painter. 
His cloud studies are marvellous, though perhaps 
the landscape colours are somewhat hard and 
overdone in the effort to produce the desired 
effects. He paints, as a rule, the rolling cumu- 
lus, and is one of the first of the younger artists. 

Verster is known best for his impressionist way 
of painting flowers in colour patches, though he 
has now taken to the minute and mystical method 
of representing them. 

Onnes, like Toorop, is a decided mystic, and 
there is a vein of mysticism in all his paintings. 
He is famous for his light effects in glass and 
pottery, and has especially a wonderful knack of 
painting choirs in churches all in a dreamy light. 



Art and Letters 183 

Bauer is better known, perhaps, by his draw- 
ings and etchings than by his paintings. He 
paints with striking beauty old churches, temples, 
and mosques, generally the exteriors, and the 
effect of his minute work is wonderful. Bauer is 
also one of the finest of Dutch decorative artists. 

Hoytema is known for his illustrations. 
Animal life is his forte, especially owls and 
monkeys. 

Among other younger painters who, though 
not yet of European reputation, may still be 
classed with many of the older generation, are 
Jan Veth and H. Haverman, both of whom excel 
in portraits. The lady artists who have best 
held their own with the stronger sex include, in 
addition to those named, Mme. Bilders van Bosse, 
who paints woods and leafy groves with striking 
power ; and the late Mme. Vogels-Roozeboom, 
who found her inspiration in the flora of Nature. 
In her day (she died in 1894) she was the first of 
floral painters, and whenever she raised her brush 
the finest of flowers rose up as at the touch of a 
magic wand. Second to her, though not so well 
known by far, came Mile. W. van der Sande 
Bakhuizen. 

The Dutch are not only a nation of painters, 
but a nation of picture-lovers, though in Holland, 
as in other countries, one not seldom sees upon 
walls from which better would be expected tawdry 
art, about which all that can be said is that it was 
bought cheap. The country possesses a numbi»*r 



1 84 Dutch Life 

of good public galleries, and mucli is done in this 
way and by the frequent exhibition of paintings 
to foster the love of the artistic. The principal 
exhibitions are those of the Pulchri Studio and 
the Kunst-kring (Art Circle) at The Hague, and 
the " Arti et Amicitia " at Rotterdam. To be- 
come a working member of the Pulchri Studio is 
counted a great honour, for the artists who are 
on the committee are very particular as to whom 
they admit into their circle, and they ruthlessly 
blackball anyone who is at all * ' amateurish ' ' 
or who does not come up to their high standard. 
For this reason it is that so many of the younger 
artists give exhibitions of their own works as the 
only way of getting them at all known. 

Sculpture is not much practised in Holland. It 
would seem to be an art belonging almost entirely 
to Southern climes, although there was a time 
when the Dutch modelled busts and heads from 
snow. The monument of Piet Hein was originally 
made of snow, and so much did it take the fancy 
of the people of Delftshaven, the place of his 
birth, that they had a stone monument erected 
for him on the place where the one of snow had 
stood. It is only recently, however, that sculp- 
ture has been re-introduced into Holland as a 
fine art, and those artists who have taken it up 
need hardly fear competition with their brethren 
of other Continental countries, for their names 
are already on every tongue. The first amongst 
those who have shown real power is Pier Pander, 



Art and Letters 185 

the cripple son of a Frisian mat-plaiter, who came 
over from Rome (where he had gone to complete 
his studies) at the special invitation of the Queen 
to model a bust of the Prince Consort, Duke 
Hendrik of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Other no- 
table sculptors are Van Mattos, Od€, Bart de 
Hove, and Van Wyck. 

There is also another art which is in consider- 
able vogue, and in which much good work has 
been done — that of wood-carving. In this the 
painter and illustrator Hoytema has shown con- 
siderable skill. Needless to say, Holland is also 
as famous now as ever for its pottery. Delft ware 
was ever the fame of the Dutch nation, though 
the Rosenbach and Gouda pottery is now gaining 
approval. It may be doubted, however, whether 
the love for the latter is altogether without affect- 
ation. One is inclined to believe that many of 
its admirers are enthusiastic to order. They 
admire because the leading authorities assure 
them it is their duty so to do. 

The Netherlands, though very limited in area 
and small in population, can also boast of having 
contributed much that is excellent to the literature 
of the world, and in its roll of famous literary men 
are to be found names which would redeem any 
country from the charge of intellectual barren- 
ness. Spinoza, Erasmus, and Hugo de Groot 
(Grotius), to name no others, form a trio whose 
influence upon the thought of the world, and 
upon the movements which make for human 



1 86 Dutch Life 

progress, has been beyond estimation, and which 
still belongs to-day to the imperishable inherit- 
ance of the race. 

As illustrating the world-wide fame of Hugo de 
Groot it is interesting to note that on the occasion 
of the Peace Conference held at The Hague in 
1899 the American representatives invited all 
their fellow-delegates to Delft, and there, in the 
church of his burial, papers were read in which 
the claim of the great thinker to perpetual honour 
was brought to the memories of the assembled 
spokesmen of the civilised world. 

It is with the modern literature and literary 
movements of Holland, however, that these pages 
must concern themselves, and for practical pur- 
poses we may confine ourselves principally to the 
latter part of the completed century. For the 
early part of the nineteenth century was by no 
means prolific in literary achievement, and does 
not boast of many great names, if one disregards 
the writers whose lives linked that century with 
its predecessor, like Betjen Wolff and Agatha 
Deken, When, in 1814-15, Holland again be- 
came a separate kingdom, that important event 
failed to mark a new era in Dutch literature. 
Strange to say, though the political changes of 
the time powerfully influenced the sister arts of 
music and painting, which show strong traces 
of the transition of that crisis in the nation's his- 
tory, upon literature they had no effect whatever. 
Before 1840 no very brilliant writers came to the 



Art and Letters 187 

front, though the period was not without notable 
names, such as Willem Bilderdijk, Hendrik C. 
Tollens, and Isaac da Costa, all of whom possessed 
a considerable vogue. Bilderdijk' s chief claim to 
fame is the fact that he wrote over 300,000 lines 
of verse, and regarded himself as the superior of 
Shakespeare ; Tollens had a name for rare 
patriotism, and wrote many fine historical poems 
and ballads ; while Da Costa, who was a con- 
verted Jew, had to the last, in spite of a consider- 
able popularity as a poet, to contend with the 
oftentimes fatal shafts of ridicule. 

A new period opened, however, about 1840, in 
the Gids movement promoted by 15. J. Potgieter 
and R. C. Bakhuizen van den Brink, who were 
editors of the Gids and the severest of literary 
critics. The Gids was the Dutch equivalent of 
the Edinburgh Review under Jeffrey, and its 
criticisms were so much dreaded by the nervous 
Dutch author of the day that the magazine re- 
ceived the name of " The Blue Executioner," 
blue being the colour of its cover. If, however, 
Potgieter and Bakhuizen were unsparing in the 
use of the tomahawk, the service which they ren- 
dered to Dutch letters by their drastic treatment of 
crude and immature work was healthy and last- 
ing in influence, for it undoubtedly raised the 
tone and standard of literary work, both in that 
day and for a long time to come, and so helped 
to establish modern Dutch literature on a firm 
basis. Perhaps the foremost figure in the literary 



1 88 Dutch Life 

revival which followed was Conrad Busken Huet, 
unquestionably the greatest Dutch critic of the 
last century, whose book, Literary Criticisms and 
Fancies, which contains a discriminating review 
of all writers from Bilderdijk forward, is essen- 
tial to a thorough study of Dutch literature during 
the nineteenth century. Huet also emancipated 
literature from the orthodoxy in thought which 
had characterised the earlier Dutch writers, espe- 
cially by his novel Lidewyde. 

No novelist has more truly reflected the old- 
fashioned ideas and simple home life of Holland 
than Nicholas Beets, who still lives and even 
writes occasionally, though almost a nonagena- 
rian. His Camera Obscura, which has been trans- 
lated into English, entitles Beets to be recognised 
as the Dickens of Holland, and his two novels, 
De Familie Stastoc and De Familie Kegge, are 
familiar to every Dutchman. The historical 
novelists, Jacob van lycnnep and Mrs. Bosboom 
Toussaint, should not be overlooked. 

One of the foremost Dutch poets of the century 
is Petrus Augustus de Genestet. Although he is 
not free from rhetoric, and frequently uses old 
and worn-out similes, his general view of things 
is wider and his feeling deeper than those of any 
of his contemporaries in verse. The contrast, for 
example, between him and Carel Vosmaer, though 
they belong to the same period, is very striking, 
for while the poetry of Genestet is full of feeling 
and ideality, that of Vosmaer is unemotional;" and 



Art and Letters 189 

though he dresses his thoughts in beautiful words, 
the impression left upon the mind after reading 
his poetry is that which might be left after look- 
ing at a gracefully modelled piece of marble — 
it is fine as art, but cold and dead, and so awak- 
ens no responsive sympathy in the mind of the 
beholder. 

But the greatest of modern Dutch authors, and 
the one who may be termed the forerunner of the 
renaissance of 1880, was E. Douwes Dekker, who 
died thirteen years ago. Dekker had an eventful 
career. He went to the Dutch Indies at the age 
of twenty-one, and there spent some seventeen 
years in official life, gradually rising to the posi- 
tion of Assistant Resident of lyebac. While 
occupying that office his eyes were opened to the 
defective system of government existing in the 
Colonies, and the abuses to which the natives 
were subjected. He tried to interest the higher 
officials on behalf of the subject races, but as all 
his endeavours proved unavailing he became dis- 
heartened, and, resigning his post, returned to 
Holland with the object of pleading in Govern- 
ment circles at home the cause which he had 
taken so deeply to heart. As a deaf ear was still 
turned to all his entreaties he decided, as a last 
resource, to appeal for a hearing at the bar of 
public opinion. He entered literature, and wrote 
the stirring story Max Havelaar, in which he 
gave voice to the wrongs of the natives and the 
callous injustices perpetrated by the Colonial 



iQo Dutch Life 

authorities. The book made a great sensation, 
and has unquestionably had very beneficial re- 
sults in opening the public's eyes to some of the 
more glaring defects of Colonial administration. 

In 1880, Dutch literature entered upon an en- 
tirely new phase. The chief authors of the move- 
ment then begun were lyodewyk van Deyssel, 
Albert Verwey, and Willem Kloos, who in the 
monthly magazine, De Nieuwe Gids, exercised b}' 
their trenchant criticisms the same beneficial and 
restraining influence upon the literature of the 
day as Potgieter and Bakhuizen did forty years 
before. The columns of the Nieuwe Gids were 
only opened to the very best of Dutch authors, 
and any works not coming up to the editors' high 
ideas of literary excellence were unmercifully 
" slated " by these competent critics. Independ- 
ence was the prominent characteristic of the 
authors of the period. They shook themselves 
free from the old thoughts and similes, and 
created new paths, in which their minds found 
freer expression. The new thoughts demanded 
new words; hence came about the practice of 
word-combination, which was in direct defiance 
of the conservative canons of literary style which 
had hitherto prevailed ; so that nowadays almost 
every author adds a new vocabulary of his own 
to the Dutch language, so enhancing the charm 
of his own writings and adding to the literary 
wealth of the nation in general. 

The poetess whom Holland to-day most delights 



Art and Letters 191 

to honour is Helena Lapidoth Swarth, whose 
works increase in worth and beauty every year. 
Her command of the Dutch language and her 
power of wresting from it literary resources which 
are unattainable by any other writer have made 
her the admiration of all critics of penetration^ 
lyouis Couperus is also another living poet of 
mark, v/ho, however, does not confine himself to 
formal versification, for his prose is also poetry. 
His best works are Eline Vere, the first book he 
wrote, and the characters in which are said to 
have been all taken from life, and his novels 
Majesty and Uiiiversal Peace, which have gained 
for him a European reputation, for they have 
been translated into most modern languages. 

Women authors who have written works with 
a special tendency are Cornelie Huygens, who is 
known particularly by her novel Barthold Mar- 
gan ; M rs. Goekoop de Jong, who champions the 
cause of women's rights; and Anna de Savornin 
Lohman, who, in a striking book entitled, Why 
Question Any Longer? has written very bitterly 
against the political conditions of the circle of 
society in which she moves. 

While the authors of the present day are bene- 
ficially leavening popular opinion by inculcating 
higher and healthier sentiments, there are also 
authors in Holland, as elsewhere, who debase 
good metal, and write from a purely material 
standpoint. To this class of authors belong 
Marcellus Emants, and Frans Netcher. 



192 Dutch Life 

Of Dutch dramatic writers, Herman Heyermans 
is one of the most noteworthy, and some of his 
plays have been translated into French, and pro- 
duced in Paris theatres. 

It is a great drawback to literary effort in Hol- 
land that the honoraria paid to authors are so low 
that most writers who happen not to be pecuniarily 
independent — and they are the majority — are un- 
able to make a tolerable subsistence at home by 
the pen alone, and are obliged to contribute to 
foreign publications, and some even resort to 
teaching. Many Dutch authors of high rank 
write anonymously in English, French, and Ger- 
man magazines, and probably earn far more in 
that way than by their contributions to Dutch 
ephemeral literature, for the ordinary fee for a 
sheet of three thousand words — which is the 
average length of a printed sheet in a Dutch 
magazine — is ovi\.y ioxiy francs. 

The pity is that Dutch literature itself is not 
known as well as it deserves to be, for anyone 
who takes the trouble to master the Dutch lan- 
guage will find himself well repaid by the treasures 
of thought which are contained in the modern 
authors of Holland. 




CHAPTER XVI 



tn^ DUTCH AS READERS 



ALTHOUGH printing was not invented in 
Holland, the nation would not have been 
unworthy of that honour, for there is a wide- 
spread culture of the book among all classes of 
the population, and the newspaper and periodical 
press makes further a very large contribution to 
its intellectual food. Nearly two thousand book- 
sellers and publishers are engaged in the task of 
bringing within easy reach of their customers 
everything they wish to read. It is no unusual 
thing to find a decently equipped retail bookshop 
in quite unimportant townlets, and even in vil- 
lages. By an admirable arrangement every 
publisher .sends parcels of books for the various 
retailers all over the country to one central house 
in Amsterdam — kei Bestelhuis voor den Boek- 
handel (the Booksellers' Collecting and Dis- 
tributing Ofl&ce). In this establishment the 
publishers' parcels are opened, and all books sent 
by the various publishers for one retailer are 
packed together and forwarded to him, by rail, 
steamer, or other cheap mode of conveyance. In 
'^ 193 



194 Dutch Life 

consequence, any doctor, clergyman, or school- 
master can receive a penny or twopenny pam- 
phlet in his out-of-the-way home, as well as any 
book or periodical from I^ondon, Paris, Berlin, 
Vienna, etc., within a remarkably short time, 
without trouble, and without extra expense in 
postage, by simply applying to the local book- 
seller. 

The Dutch are very cosmopolitan in their 
reading. Many children of the superior working 
classes learn French at the primary schools ; most 
children of the middle class pick up English and 
German as well at the secondary schools, and a 
large proportion of them are able to talk in these 
three foreign languages ; and as opportunities for 
intercourse are not over-abundant in the smaller 
towns, they keep up their knowledge of these 
languages by reading. Indeed, the five millions 
of Dutchmen are, relatively, the largest buyers of 
foreign literature in Europe. The translator, 
however, comes to the rescue of those who suc- 
ceed in forgetting so much of their foreign 
languages that they find reading them a very 
mitigated enjoyment. This question of transla- 
tion is rather a sore point in the relations be- 
tween Dutch and foreign authors and publishers. 
The pecuniary injury done to foreign authors, 
however, is very slight, while in reputation they 
have benefited ; for if Dutch private libraries are 
not without their Shakespeare, Motley, Macaulay, 
Dickens, Thackeray; Kingsley, Browning, not to 



The Dutch as Readers 195 

mention French and German classics, this is 
mainly due to the fact that the parents of the 
present generation had the opportunity of buj^- 
ing Dutch translations, and explained to their 
children the value and the beauty of these works. 

Moreover, most authors and publishers in 
foreign countries, using languages with world- 
wide circulation, are apt to miscalculate the 
profits made by Dutch publishers, with their 
very limited market and limited sale. A royalty 
of ;^5 for the right of translating some novel 
would be regarded as a contemptibly small sum 
in the English book world, but £,'^ in Dutch cur- 
rency presses heavily on the budget of a Dutch 
translation, of which only some hundred or so 
copies can be sold at a retail price of not quite 
five shillings, and is am almost prohibitive price 
to pay for the copyright of a novel which is only 
used as 2,feuilleton of a local paper with an edition 
of under a thousand copies a week. As a fact, 
many Dutch publishers pay royalties to their 
foreign colleagues as soon as the publication is 
important enough to bear the expense ; but the 
majority clearly will only give up their ancient 
" right " of free translation, and agree to join the 
Berne Convention, if a practicable way can be 
found out of the financial difficulty. For the 
present, then, the Dutch are cosmopolitan readers, 
direct or indirect. 

In the average bookseller's shop one finds, of 
course, a majority of novels — novels of all sorts 



196 Dutch Life 

and conditions — supplemented by literary essays 
and poems. In a number of cases the bookseller 
is not merely a shopkeeper who deals in printed 
matter, and supplies just what his customers ask 
for, but a man of education and judgment, who is 
well able to give his opinion on books and authors. 
Often he has read them, though oftener, of course, 
he is guided by the leading monthly and weekly 
magazines and reviews, and by the publishers' 
columns of the leading daily newspapers. The 
bookseller is thus in many cases the trusted man- 
ager and guiding spirit of one or more Lees- 
gezelschappen, or " Reading Societies." These 
societies have a history. At the end of the 
eighteenth century they were often political and 
even revolutionary bodies. The members or sub- 
scribers met to discuss books, pamphlets, and 
periodicals, but frequently they discussed by 
preference the passages in the books bearing 
upon political conditions, and argued improve- 
ments which they considered desirable or neces- 
sary. As time passed by, and free institutions 
became the possession of the Dutch, the political 
mission of the Reading Society became exhausted, 
but the institution itself survived, and continues 
to the present day. 

The Leesgezelschap owes its special form 
to another peculiarity of the Dutch — their in- 
tensely domesticated, home-loving character. 
Family life, with its fine and delicate intimacies 
between husband and wife, between parent and 



The Dutch as Readers 197 

children, is the most attractive feature of national 
existence in the Netherlands. Family life is, in- 
deed, the centre from which the national virtues 
emanate, because there the individual members 
educate each other in the practice of personal 
virtues. The Dutchman is not constitutionally 
reserved and shy ; he knows how to live a full, 
strong, public life ; he never shrinks from civic 
duties and social intercourse ; but his love of 
home life takes the first place after his passion 
for liberty and independence. Club life in Hol- 
land is insignificant, and few clubs even attempt 
to create a substitute for home life ; they are 
merely used for friendly intercourse for an hour 
or so every day, and as better- class restaurants. 
A Dutchman prefers to do his reading at home, 
in the domestic circle, with the members of his 
family, or in his study if he follows some scien- 
tific occupation, and his Leesgezehchap affords 
him the opportunity of doing this. There are 
military, theological, educational, philological, 
and all sorts of scientific reading societies, besides 
those for general literature. They work on the 
co-operative system. The manager is in many 
cases a local bookseller, buying Dutch and foreign 
books, magazines, reviews, illustrated weeklies 
and pamphlets in one or more copies, according 
to the number, the tastes, and the wants of the 
members. Most societies take in books and 
periodicals in four languages — Dutch, French, 
German, English — and so their members keep 



1 98 Dutch Life 

themselves well acquainted with the world's 
opinion. And all this, be it added, costs the sub- 
scriber vastly less than the fees of Knglish cir- 
culating libraries, with their restricted advantages 
and heavy expenses of delivery. 

Between the book and the newspaper lies a 
form of literature which is specifically Dutch — 
the Vhcgschrift , brochure, or pamphlet. The 
brochure is an old historical institution. In the 
eighteenth century it was very popular as a 
vehicle for the zeal of fiery reformers, who thus 
vented their opinions on burning political ques- 
tions of the day. There is no necessity nowadays 
for these small booklets, so easily hidden from 
suspicious eyes, though the brochure is still used 
whenever, in stirring speech or impassioned ser- 
mon, Holland's leading men address themselves 
to the emotions of the hour. These brochures, as 
a rule, cost no more than sixpence, yet, none the 
less, the thrifty Dutch have Leesgezelschap- 
pefi which buy and circulate them among their 
subscribers ; they take everything from every- 
body, never caring whose opinions they read upon 
the various subjects of current interest, a trait 
which evidences a very praiseworthy lack of bias. 

This lack of bias is not so obvious so far as 
newspaper reading is concerned. Like other 
people, the Dutch take such newspapers as de- 
fend or represent their own political opinions, and 
often affect towards journals on the other side a 
contemptuous indifference which is only half real. 



The Dutch as Readers 199 

Political parties in Holland differ slightly from 
those of Great Britain, except that in the former 
country politics and religion go together. Thus 
in Holland a Liberal who at the same time is not 
advanced in religious thought hardly exists, and 
would scarcely be trusted. In consequence the 
Liberals were not defeated at the last general 
elections because they were Liberals, but because 
their opponents (the Anti-Revolutionists and 
Roman Catholics) denounced them as irreligious 
and atheistical. In political strife the religious 
controversy takes the form of an argument for 
and against the influence of religious dogma upon 
politics and education. 

Now, as far as journalism goes, the Liberal and 
Radical newspapers unquestionably take the lead. 
The Roman Catholics are like the Anti-Revolu- 
tionists, very anxious to provide their readers 
with wholesome news, but this anxiety is not 
successfully backed up by care that this whole- 
some news shall be early as well ; hence their 
journalism is somewhat behind the times. Of 
most of the progressive newspapers it may be 
said that the whole of the contents are interest- 
ing; as to the rest, they are only interesting 
because of the leading articles, which are some- 
times written by eminent men. 

As far as circulation goes, Het Nieuws van den 
Dag can boast to be the leading journal, its 
edition running to nearly 40,000 copies a day. 
Up to the present its editors have been advanced, 



200 Dutch Life 

or " Modern," Protestant clergymen, in the per- 
sons of Simon Gorter, H. de Veer, and P. H, 
Ritter. Although not taking a strong line in 
politics, its inclinations are decidedly towards 
moderate Liberalism, and, thanks to its cheap 
price, — 14^. dd. per annum, — its extensive, pru- 
dently, and carefully selected and worded supply 
of news, and its sagacious management, it became 
the family paper of the Dutch, excellently suiting 
the quiet taste of the middle class of the nation. 
It is found everywhere save in those few places 
where the Roman Catholic Church has sufficient 
influence to get it boycotted. The Nietcws, as it 
is generally called, gives from twenty-four to 
thirty-two, and even more, pages of closely 
printed matter, of which the advertisements 
occupy rather over than under half. One does not 
see it read in public more than any other Dutch 
paper, and two reasons account for this. One 
is the fact that, as has been said, a Dutchman 
prefers to do his reading at home — met een 
boekj'e, in een hoekje (with my book in a quiet 
corner) is the Dutchman's ideal of cosy literary 
enjoyment. Then, too, Dutch newspaper pub- 
lishers prefer a system of safe quarterly subscrip- 
tions to the chance of selling one day a few 
thousand copies less than the other, since even 
the largest circulation in Holland is too limited 
for risky commercial vicissitudes. 'Hence they 
make the price for single numbers so high that 
only the prospect of long hours in a railway- 



The Dutch as Readers 201 

carriage frightens a Dutchman into buying one 
or more newspapers. 

The Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant is another 
typical Dutch newspaper, but appealing to quite 
other instincts than the Nieuws. In their quiet 
way the Dutch are rather proud of their Nieuwe 
Rotterdammer, which inspires something like awe 
for its undeniable, but slightly ponderous, virtues. 
The Nieuwe Rotterdammer is absolutely Liberal, 
and stands no Radical or Social Democratic non- 
sense ; its leading articles are lucid, cool, logical, 
and to the point ; it has correspondents every- 
where, at home and abroad ; and all staunch 
Liberals of a clear-cut, even dogmatic type, who 
love Free Trade and look upon municipal and 
State intervention as pernicious, swear by it. 
The present chief editor is Dr. Zaayer, formerly a 
Liberal member of the Second Chamber of the 
States-General, a shrewd, well-read Dutchman, 
with a splendid University education ; and the 
manager, J. C. Nijgh, is as clever a man of busi- 
ness as Rotterdam can produce. As far as it is 
possible to lead Dutchmen by printed matter, the 
Nieuwe Rotterdammer does it. Its supply of news 
is so fresh and so reliable that everybody reads it, 
even the Roman Catholics in North Brabant and 
Limburg, Holland's two Catholic counties. 

The next important newspaper is Het Algemeen 
Handelsblad of Amsterdam, which is peculiarly 
the journal of the Amsterdam merchants, ship- 
owners, and traders. The Handelsblad is not so 



202 Dutch Life 

exclusively I^iberal as its competitor in Rotter- 
dam, for its inclinations are of a more advanced 
turn, and it is always ready to admit rather Radi- 
cal articles on social matters if written by serious 
men. Its chief editor is Dr. A. Polak, of whom 
it is said that what he does not know about the 
working and meaning of the Dutch constitution 
and the Dutch law is hardly worth knowing. His 
articles display a calm, sound, scientific brain 
and an honest, straightforward mind. Its man- 
aging editor is Charles Boissevain, whose con- 
tributions to the paper, entitled Van Dag tot 
Dag (From Day to Day) are equally admir- 
able for brilliancy of style, broadness of spirit, 
and the manly outspokenness of their contents. 
This journal has likewise an extensive staff and 
a huge army of correspondents at home and 
abroad. 

A third Liberal journal of growing influence is 
the Radical Vaderland, of which the late Minister 
of the Interior, Mr. H. Goeman Borgesius, now 
a member of the Second Chamber, was chief 
editor during many years, though there no longer 
exists any personal connection between the two, 
and the Vaderland is, if anything, more advanced 
in politics than its former editor. Its chief influ- 
ence is at The Hague, formerly a stronghold of 
Conservatism, until the Conservative party dis- 
appeared entirely. 

Other Liberal, Radical, and Social Democratic 
newspapers are published all over the country, 



The Dutch as Readers 203 

the most important and influential being the 
Liberal- Democratic Arnhemsche Courant. 

Mr. Troelstra, one of the Socialist leaders, edits 
a daily, Het Volk (The People), a well-written 
party newspaper, whose influence, however, does 
not extend beyond its party. 

Professor Abraham Kuyper, leader of the Anti- 
Revolutionist or Calvinist party, the largest but 
one in the country, was editor of the Standaard 
until he became President Minister of the Nether- 
lands. In opposition to the I^iberal principle, as 
formulated by the Italian Cavour, " A Free 
Church in a Free State," he maintains that the 
Bible, being God's Word, is the only possible 
basis for any State, and holds that the King and 
the Government derive their power and authority 
not from the people, but from God. His Stand- 
aard is another proof that whatever this universal 
genius does bears the unmistakable stamp of his 
power and personality. One may be thoroughly 
opposed to his principles, but nobody can help 
admiring the sterling merit of his leading articles. 
If Kuyper writes or speaks upon any subject 
under the sun, you will be sure to find him thor- 
oughly acquainted with it ; but then his turn of 
mind is so original and his style is so brilliant, 
that he discloses points of view which give it 
fresh interest to those who most cordially disagree 
with him. The brilliancy of his journalistic 
powers is not confined, however, to his leaders. 

The Standaard has another and more purely 



204 Dutch Life 

polemical feature, its Driestars — short para- 
graphs, separated in the column by three aster- 
isks, whence their name. These Driestars are 
the pride and the wonder of the Dutch Press, 
on account of their trenchant, clever, courageous 
wording, a wording which is sure to incite the 
opponent to bitter defence or fiery attack, and to 
provide the adherent with an argument so finely 
sharpened and polished that he delights in the 
possession of so excellent a weapon. 

Dr. Kuyper's political opponent in the Calvinist 
party is Mr. A. F. de Savornin Lohman, the 
leader of the aristocrats, whereas Kuyper is the 
head of the kleine luyden — the humble toilers 
of the fields and towns. Mr. lyohman was a 
member of the first Calvino-Catholic Cabinet, 
and is still a great power in his party ; in conse- 
quence his Nederlatider exerts some influence, 
though not nearly so much as the Standaard. 

The two most prominent Roman Catholic news- 
papers are the Conservative Tyd (Time) and 
the somewhat Democratic Centrimi. Both are 
party papers pure and simple, and are excellently 
edited, so far as party politics are concerned, by 
clever, well-educated, well-read men. The Cen- 
trum frequently enjoys the co-operation of Dr. 
Herman Schaepman, the priest-poet, whose some- 
what ponderous eloquence is agreeably relieved 
by a glowing enthusiasm and a refreshing force 
of conviction. 

Kuyper, Boissevain,and Schaepman are,indeed, 



The Dutch as Readers 205 

three journalists of whom any country might be 
proud. Their style, their individuality, and 
their mental power are equally remarkable, and 
though living and working in different grooves 
of life, using different modes of thought, and 
cherishing different ideals, they powerfully im- 
press and influence their readers by the purity of 
their aims, the honesty of their convictions, and 
the chivalry'- of their controversial methods. But 
of the three Boissevain is the only one who is a 
journalist for the sake of journalism. Yet neither 
Calvinist nor Catholic journal tries to compete 
with the Nieuwe Rotterdammer or the Handelsblad 
in the publication of original and high-class in- 
formation. They aim rather at providing their 
readers with the necessary party arguments, and 
the news is a matter of secondary importance. 

As to the provinces in general, of the 1300 towns 
and villages of Holland, nearly 300 are the happy 
possessors of a local newspaper of some descrip- 
tion, and altogether 1700 daily and weekly jour- 
nals, devoted variously to the representation of 
political, clerical, mercantile, scientific, and other 
interests, are published in the whole country. 

The Dutch like to see more than one news- 
paper, but the majority of people cannot afford to 
be dual subscribers, and a great many cannot 
even afford to buy a single news-sheet regularly. 
Hence agencies exist for circulating the papers 
from one reader to another. Those who receive 
them straight from the publisher pay most, and 



206 



Dutch Life 



those who are contented to enjoy their news when 
one, two, or three days old pay but a small fee. 
The newspaper circulating agency is very general 
in Holland, and in centres of restricted domestic 
resources it plays a very useful place in social and 
political life. 




CHAPTER XVII 
poi,iTiCAi< i^ife; and thought 

HOLLAND is a democratic kingdom. De- 
mocracy was born there in the sixteenth 
century, and is still unquestionably thriving. 
But democracy was born in peculiar circum- 
stances ; it was reared by men whose ideas of 
democracy differed, for, while the leaders of the 
nation consistently worked for popular govern- 
ment, they did not all or always mean exactly 
the same thing by the word ' ' people, ' ' and hence 
did not aim at exactly the same goal. The 
French Revolution of the eighteenth century up- 
set the outward form of the Dutch Common- 
wealth ; it did away with ancient and more or 
less obsolete fetters, which proved no longer 
strong enough to support the growth of political 
life, though still suflSciently strong to hinder it. 
It could do nothing for, and add nothing to, the 
profound love of liberty and the passion for inde- 
pendence which are dearer to every Dutchman 
than life itself, but it could and did extend the 
blessing of political and religious freedom to a 
greater number of people, Love of liberty brought 
207 



2o8 Dutch Life 

about the disestablishment of the Church, and 
love of toleration made Holland follow this meas- 
ure in the fifties by the emancipation of the 
Roman Catholics. 

Kveryone who is acquainted with Dutch his- 
tory understands that these two things have as 
much meaning for Dutch political as for Dutch 
religious life. But side by side with religious and 
political freedom came also economic freedom. 
The guilds were abolished, and so the bonds by 
which the handicrafts had been prevented from 
moving with the movements of the times, and 
thus of living a healthy life, were swept away. 
The social revolution acted like the doctor who 
enters a close and stufEy sick room and throws 
open the windows and door, so that the invalid 
may get the very first necessity of life — fresh air. 
So it was with a sigh of relief that the Dutch — 
and not they alone — said, ' ' No State interference 
in matters of trade and industry ; let us keep open 
the windows and doors ! ' ' 

No doctor, however, will compel his patient to 
live in a constant draught, winter and summer, 
since upon one occasion a liberal admission of 
fresh air was necessary to save that patient's life. 
There can be no doubt that during the nineteenth 
century the doors and windows were kept open 
rather too long. The great employers of labour 
were strong enough to stand the draught, for 
centuries of prosperity had made them a powerful 
class; but their men had no such advantages, and 



Political Life and Thought 209 

they were worse off when steam-power brought 
about another revolution by creating the so-called 
system of ' ' capitalistic production ' ' and the 
growth of the large industries. Hence it comes 
about that Holland, like all civilised countries, is 
now trying to find out how far the windows and 
the doors must be closed, so as to allow the men 
to live as well as the masters. This, in few 
words, characterises Dutch party politics from 
the social and economic side. 

Political parties in the Netherlands obviously 
differ not only in their views upon political, re- 
ligious, and economic issues, but also as to the 
degree of precedence to be allowed to each of 
these three departments of national life and 
thought. The lyiberals say, "Politics first; if 
these are sound and religion and commerce are 
free, everything will be right," The Social 
Democrats reply, " Politics only concern us as a 
means of obtaining real and substantial economic 
liberty and material equality ; religion does not 
affect us at all, and certainly does not help to 
solve the practical problems of human life." 
Differing from both, the Anti-Revolutionists 
assert, " Whosoever leaves the firm ground of 
God's Word, the Holy Scriptures, as the only 
true basis for public and private action, can have 
neither sound politics nor sound economics." 
The Roman Catholics also put religion on the 
first plane, but they are in the most difficult posi- 
tion of all. They are a minority, even a decreas- 



2IO Dutch Life 

ing minority, and know perfectly well that they 
will never be a majority ; so they recognise that in 
the first place they must try to be good Dutchmen, 
faithful, loyal citizens of the State, while in the 
second place they must not give up one single ideal 
of their Church. Their faith in the eternal exist- 
ence of their ecclesiastic system enables them on 
the one hand to be patient and to wait, just as on 
the other hand it teaches them not to sit still, but 
to act, to work, either by themselves or conjointly 
with any party that may assist them to realise, or 
even to get nearer to, any of their religious ideals. 

When the I^iberals, in the middle of the nine- 
teenth century, did an act of great toleration by 
emancipating the Roman Catholic Church, the 
Protestants threw over the Liberal Cabinet, and 
the Liberal leader, Thorbecke, was returned to 
Parliament by the most Catholic town of Hol- 
land, Maestricht, in Limburg. But afterwards 
the Anti- Revolutionists raised the cry for denomi- 
national education, and the Dutch Liberals were 
rather sore to find that their former friends joined 
their antagonists. The soreness was in conse- 
quence of a miscalculation; the Liberals had for- 
gotten that in becoming emancipated the Roman 
Catholics did not become Liberals, but remained 
Roman Catholics as before, faithful to their creed, 
and to their ideals, even at the cost of political 
friendship. 

The common ground upon which Anti-Rev- 
olutionists and Roman Catholics meet is the 



Political Life and Thought 211 

conviction that religion must in everything be 
the starting-point. The Anti-Revolutionists take 
the Scriptures as such ; the Roman Catholics ac- 
cept the Pope's decisions, given ex cathedrd, as 
inspired by the Holy Spirit and transmitted to 
him by Conclaves and Councils. For the rest, 
Rome's creed is sheer idolatry to the Anti-Revo- 
lutionist Protestants, whereas Rome looks upon 
all Protestants as lost heretics. But both, again, 
consider such Protestants — the so-called " Mod- 
erns " — who reject the Trinit}', the miracles, the 
Divine origin of the Bible, and certain other 
dogmas, as simple atheists, and as most " Mod- 
erns " are Liberals, and vice-versa, they proclaim 
the Liberal State to be an atheistic State. 

Strictlj^ speaking, there is really no Conserva- 
tive party in Holland, for it ceased to exist in the 
beginning of the seventies. After Thorbecke 
gave Holland the Liberal constitution of 1848, 
the Conservatives tried for a time to obstruct the 
country's political development, but ultimately 
they gave up the attempt, and their best and 
ablest men, Mr, J. Heemsherk Azn and Karl C. 
Th. van Lynden van Sandenburg, headed Liberal 
Cabinets as men professing very moderately pro- 
gressive views, yet openly opposed to the restora- 
tion of the somewhat autocratic and aristocratic 
conditions which prevailed before 1848, in con- 
sequence of the reaction against the chaotic 
era of the French Revolution and Napoleon 
Bonaparte. Yet though there is no Conservative 



212 Dutch Life 

party in Holland, there are, none the less, 
Conservatives in every party. 

The Liberal party counts three sections, the 
Old Liberals, the Radico-Liberals, and the Liberal 
Democrats. The Old Liberals adhere to Thor- 
becke's principles, and maintain that it is the 
primary business of a Liberal State to promote 
individuality and to create on this basis the gen- 
eral conditions by which social development can 
be achieved. According to them the State has 
no right to interfere in everything, to cure every- 
thing, to provide everything, as the collectivist 
would like ; on the contrary, its first duty is 
abstinence — simply to preserve a fair field and to 
show no favour. These Old Liberals, in fact, 
regard the State as a legal corporation which 
exists merely to administer justice and to guard 
the constitutional rights of its citizens. 

Their political friends and next-of-kin are the 
Radico-Liberals of the " Liberal Union," who 
form, for the present, the bulk of the party. 
The}^ admit the value of individual energy and 
enterprise, and hold that unlimited scope must 
be allowed to these ; they even contend that, on 
the whole, the system of unfettered individualism 
proved to be more in the workman's favour than 
the opposite ; but they also admit that this con- 
dition is not such as it might and ought to be, 
and in consequence they do not object to social 
legislation wherever individual efforts fail. 

The advanced Liberal Democrats {de Vryzin- 



Political Life and Thought 213 

nige Democraten) diflfer fundamentally from both 
the foregoing parties. They give prominence 
to political rights and franchises, and hence 
fall foul of a leading clause (Clause 80) of the 
Constitution, which confers electoral powers upon 
only such adult male inhabitants as " possess 
characteristics of capability and prosperity." 
The members of the ' ' Liberal Union ' ' admit 
that the requirement of a certain measure of pro- 
sperity withholds from numbers of citizens the 
right to influence their country's affairs by their 
votes. They admit also that the Constitution 
ought to be altered on this point, but they doubt 
whether it is sound practical politics to put this 
item in the foreground. They say, in effect, 
" We can quite well provide the country with 
adequate social legislation either with or without 
the help of the disfranchised section of the popu- 
lation, for if we propose measures dealing with 
social problems, even the more conservative 
amongst us will not object, and those measures 
will come on the statute-book. But there is not 
the slightest chance that we shall ever get the 
Old Liberals to give the franchise to poor and 
destitute people who have no financial stake 
whatever in the country. So b}'- insisting upon 
adult suffrage you merely postpone social legisla- 
tion indefinitely. Moreover, the object of our 
social legislation can only be to make the poorer 
class more capable and more prosperous, and as 
soon as that end is gained they get the franchise 



2 14 Dutch Life 

automatically, without any change of the Consti- 
tution." To this the lyiberal Democrats reply : 
" Social legislation must not be regarded as a 
grudgingly admitted necessity, it is the para- 
mount duty of the State; and as social legislation 
principally affects those who are now disfran- 
chised, it is only just to begin by affording them 
the opportunity of expressing their opinions upon 
the subject, and hence to alter the Constitution so 
as to give them votes, for they know best what 
they want." 

The Liberal Democrats deny, in fact, that the 
State can make any laws that do not affect the 
social life as well as the legal position of its citi- 
zens, and contend that those who hold that 
natural laws rule the social relations of man 
with man, and that on this ground the State 
ought to refrain from interference, merely allow 
the State to protect the stronger against the 
weaker classes, whereas its duty is the contrary. 
Positive interference in social matters is, accord- 
ing to them, the State's duty, and it may only 
refrain when the free operation of social forces 
creates no conditions or relationships which 
offend modern ideas of justice and equity. 

The Democrats have, unquestionably, by their 
secession, greatly crippled the strength of the 
lyiberal party, and it will be long before the 
younger generation of Liberals can take the places 
thus vacated and a rejuvenated and unanimous 
party can issue from the present dissensions. 



Political Life and Thought 215 

The only other political party in Holland who 
do not accept religion as the one safe starting- 
point for politics are the Social Democrats. When 
the German Socialists of the school of Marx dis- 
covered how the sudden development of steam 
and machinery was followed by a vast amount of 
distress amongst the labouring classes, affecting 
also such of the lower middle class as principally 
traded with workpeople, they at once jumped at 
the conclusion that the same thing was bound to 
go on forever. Perhaps it was with a feeling of 
despair, therefore, that the father of Dutch Social 
Democracy, F. Domela Nieuwenhuys, gradually 
drifted into anarchism, or, as he prefers to call it. 
Free Socialism, and finally abandoned all political 
action. The younger generation, led by F. van 
der Goes, H. van Kol, and, last but not least, P. 
J. Troelstra, still vigorously carr}^ on the fray, 
however, and a very considerable number of 
Dutch workmen follow them. Their ambition is 
to conquer political power in Holland, and as 
soon as they have it to revolutionise, not the 
country, but the statute-book, in such a manner 
that they may acquire the economic power as 
well. Of course, they wish to abolish individual 
property in all the means of production, and to 
make the State the owner of all these ; and it is 
their hope that a general love for the common- 
wealth, and zeal for the general welfare of all, 
may take the place of the present egotism and 
sordid pursuit of wealth. 



2i6 Dutch Life 

The Anti-Revolutionists also have their Con- 
servatives and Progressives. Dr. Kuyper always 
speaks of a " Left ' ' and a ' ' Right ' ' wing of his 
party, and as the Conservative ' ' Right ' ' is 
largely composed of the members of the Dutch 
nobility, he once sneeringly called this faction 
" the men with the double names." Their 
proper title is " B'ree Anti-Revolutionists," and 
their leader, Jhr. A, F. de Savornin Lohman, who 
in 1888, with Baron Ae. Mackay (Lord Reay's 
cousin), led the first Anti-Revolutionist-Catholic 
majority in the Second Chamber of the States- 
General. 

The third faction is headed by Dr. Bronsveld, 
and is called the " Christian Historicals, " who 
differ on one great principle from the two others, 
inasmuch as they seek the re-establishment of the 
Netherlands Hervormde Kerk as State Church. 

But, however much they differ in practical 
measures, their common ground is the recogni- 
tion of the Holy Scriptures as the only right basis 
for statesmanship, and their conviction that the 
present modern State is merely a passing, non- 
Dutch consequence of the French Revolution and 
its disastrous teachings. They all agree that the 
Netherlands should be governed according to the 
principles that made Holland great and power- 
ful ever since the Reformation of the sixteenth 
century. Dr. Kuyper is fully convinced that the 
French Revolution thrust Holland off its histori- 
cal line of development, and he wants to return, 



Political Life and Thought 217 

as near as possible, to the point reached before 
that event, or, at any rate, to lead the State for- 
ward in the old direction. 

All An ti- Revolutionists hold that their first 
civic duty is obedience to God; — if conscience 
requires resistance to the authorities, resist them, 
whatever you may suffer. At the same time they 
eschew clericalism and object to every form of 
State Church. Hence one of their chief anti- 
pathies is Clause 171 of the Constitution, which 
continues in the same way as before the disestab- 
lishment of the Church the payments by the 
Exchequer to various clergymen of all denomina- 
tions. In opposition to this they demand entire 
and absolute liberty and equality for all churches 
and confessions, and, theoretically, admit that 
one can be a member of their party without being 
of their creed. With regard to education, they 
do not desire to substitute denominational State 
schools for the present neutral ones, but they 
object that at present the State compels parents, 
who desire religious schools for their children, 
not only to find all necessary money for these 
' ' free schools, ' ' but to contribute in addition to 
the school taxes, to the advantage of such parents 
as hold that secular and religious education are 
better disconnected, since religious education must 
needs be dogmatical and sectarian, and that the 
churches and not the State should look to this, 
whereas school education can quite well be given 
without reference to religion at all. 



2i8 Dutch Life 

The Anti-Revolutionist position, on the other 
hand, is that it is not the State's duty to provide 
school or any other education, all education being 
a matter of private concern for the individual fam- 
ily, and not a public business at all ; though they 
allow that where parents are unable to maintain 
them, schools may be erected by the taxpayers' 
money. They also deprecate legislation against 
intemperance, immorality, and prostitution, be- 
cause they think such laws do not remove the evils 
themselves, but merely attack their visible signs 
and relieve moral trespassers of part of their re- 
sponsibility by protecting them against certain 
consequences of their acts. They are opposed to 
the legal and compulsory observance of the Sab- 
bath, holding this to be an affair of the churches 
and of individuals ; but they support laws to 
compel employers to allow their men a sufficient 
weekly rest on Sunda5^s. They admit a limited 
State interference in social matters, but contend 
that it must not discourage individual effort, or 
create a host of officials, inspectors, and controllers. 
The franchise must, according to them, never en- 
able one section of the nation to supersede the other 
by sheer force of numbers ; they do not admit 
that the majority system is the ultimate and only 
criterion of legality and justice ; moreover, the 
family being the unit from which the common- 
wealth has grown into existence, they contend 
that heads of families are the natural electors. 
Where the Old Liberals say that the financial 



Political Life and Thought 219 

test is the right one for voters, the Anti- Revolu- 
tionists hold that no one has a real stake in the 
country who has not a family and knows nothing 
of the responsibilities involved thereby. Dr. 
Kuyper is the democratic leader of what he calls, 
in classical but antiquated Dutch, the Kleine 
hiyden (the " lyittle people ") amongst the Anti- 
Revolutionists. He knows that the " double- 
named ' ' Free Anti-Revolutionists have little 
sympathy with his social programme, but this 
does not matter, since they are perfectly well 
aware of the fact that they owe everything, as far 
as political power goes, to the ' ' I^ittle people. ' ' 

Finally, there is the Left Wing of the Roman 
Catholic party, who derive their social convictions 
from Pope L^eo's Kncyclica, Rerum Novarum, 
which affords a great many points upon which 
joint action is possible, for Leo XIII. is often 
called in Holland " the Workmen's Pope." 
Both Anti- Revolutionists and Roman Catholics 
entertain entirely different political ideals, but 
they agree upon this, that the modern Liberal 
State is not really neutral in religious matters, 
but is "Modern" Protestant, and "Modern" 
Protestantism spells atheism in their eyes ; and 
both regard a weak and fragile Christian as a 
better citizen than the best atheist or agnostic. 
For this reason they are combined in hostility to 
the existing system of elementary education, 
which they suspect of an atheistic tendency. 
These two questions, religion and the schools, 



220 Dutch Life 

virtually exhaust the vital points of agreement 
between the Anti-Revolutionists and the Roman 
Catholics, though in an emergency they might 
possibly unite on social legislation or some mild 
form of Protection. The latter would, however, 
have to be very mild indeed, for Dr. Kuyper is a 
Free Trader, and the " Little people " like cheap 
bread just as well as other folk. For Holland it 
might be a matter of great importance if progress- 
ive social legislation became Kuyper's chief work. 
There is no doubt a great drawback in this 
mixing up by all parties of politics and religion. 
Kuyper, the Calvinist; Schaepman, the Catholic; 
Drucker, Treub, and Molengraaf, the Liberal 
Democrats ; Goeman Borgesius, the man of the 
"Liberal Union"; and Troelstra, the Socialist, 
all have many common ideas on social questions, 
although they may differ in principles and seek 
different aims. Each of them, however, has Con- 
servative opponents in his own party, and there 
is just a possibility that the next few years may 
bring about not only a healthy measure of social 
development, but also a much-desired readjust- 
ment of parties on non-theological, undogmatical 
lines. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE) ADMINISTRATION OP JUSTICE 

THERE are two very marked diflferences be- 
tween the administration of justice in Hol- 
land and in England. The first is, that what are 
called " petty offences " are not tried and disposed 
of summarily in the former country. There the 
offender in such cases is subjected to a process 
known as "verbalisation" — that is, his name, 
address, age, and all particulars of the offence are 
noted by the police ; and he is thereupon informed 
that he will be called upon to give an account of 
himself later. A week or two may pass before 
the offender receives verbal or printed notice re- 
quiring his presence before the Court of the 
Cantonal Judge, which answers somewhat to the 
English Police Court. This delay in the admin- 
istration of justice is regarded as a great defect 
even in Holland, and one which is more and more 
being recognised. The establishment of the 
Police Court as known and conducted in Eng- 
land is felt, therefore, to be a great desideratum, 
and it is by no means unlikely that it may be 
introduced before long, since the Dutch have 



222 Dutch Life 

always shown themselves ready to adopt any 
modification of their own institutions which the 
experience of other countries may prove to be 
clearly desirable. 

The second difference is that trial by jury as 
Knglishmen understand it does not exist iu the 
Netherlands. But here the Dutch are not likely 
to abandon their own tradition. The jury in 
Holland is composed of experienced and qualified 
judges, who are not apt to modify their opinions 
as to the guilt or innocence of accused persons 
owing to the tears of the latter or the passionate 
appeals of their advocates. Rightly or wrongly, 
the most eminent lawyers in Holland ascribe the 
often-recurring cases of miscarriage of justice in 
some countries which have adopted the jury 
system to this system itself, and it is very im- 
probable, therefore, that in this respect the Dutch 
will copy any of their neighbours. 

The organisation of justice in Holland origin- 
ated in the Code Napoleon, which was introduced 
shortly after the country's annexation to the 
French Empire. In the judicial system in vogue 
to-day, which is the result of modifications intro- 
duced at various times during the last century, 
and particularly by a law of the year 1895, the ad- 
ministration of justice is vested in the High Court 
{Hooge Raad), the Provincial Courts of Justice 
{Gerechtshoven), the Arrondissements {Rechtba7i- 
ken), and the Cantonal Courts {Kantongerechten). 

The High Court consists of a President, a Vice- 



The Administration of Justice 223 

President, from twelve to fourteen Councillors, 
a Procurator-General, three Advocates- General 
(who form, with the Procurator-General, the 
' ' Public Ministry ' ' or Office of Public Prosecu- 
tion), also a Greffier, or Clerk of Court, and two 
deputy Greffiers. Most of the appointments are 
made by the Sovereign, and are for life. The 
High Court is situated at The Hague, and its 
principal duty is to control the administration of 
justice by the lower Courts, a process known as 
" cassation." If, for example, one of the lower 
Courts has pronounced a sentence from which 
there is no appeal in that Court, and one of the 
contending parties is of opinion that the sentence 
is excessive, that party may require the High 
Court to cancel or annul {casseer) the verdict. 
When an appeal for cassation or annulment is 
thus made, the High Court has not to go into the 
question of the guilt or innocence of the contend- 
ing parties, but merely into the question whether 
the lower Court has judged rightly or whether it 
was competent to judge the case at all. Such 
" cassations" occur almost daily, not because the 
High Court has a reputation for reversing the 
verdicts given below, but because the process 
offers at least a good chance of getting a sentence 
reduced. The Public Prosecution, however, has 
power to set in motion the process of cassation 
without being called upon so to do if the interests 
of justice should in its opinion require it. To 
the jurisdiction of the High Court belong also 



2 24 Dutch Life 

piracy cases, the apportionment of prizes made in 
war, and the determination of accusations against 
State officials of abuse of power. 

Of Provincial Courts there are five, each com- 
posed of officials similar in name, though not in 
rank, to those of the High Court, and they, too, 
are for the most part appointed by the Crown, 
though not all for life. These Provincial Courts 
pronounce judgment in the second instance — that 
is, when the decision of a lower Court has been 
appealed against. This is, in fact, their principal 
function, though they also pronounce judgment 
in the first instance in cases of difference between 
the Cantonal Courts or Arrondissement Courts. 
The latter are so named from the divisions into 
which the country was split up for administrative 
purposes during the Napoleonic regime, for the 
existing arrondissement boundaries are virtually 
the same as those of ninety years ago. 

There are twenty -three Arrondissement Courts, 
thirteen of the first-class and ten of the second- 
class. Their principal business is to pronounce 
judgment in the first instance, even in criminal 
cases, but they also decide in the final instance in 
cases of dispute between the Cantonal Courts, 
which are under their jurisdiction. They like- 
wise adjudicate upon claims for compensation up 
to a certain amount, upon disputes regarding the 
boundaries of land and property, and upon com- 
plaints rela,ting to water-supply, drainage, and 
the like, while cases of mendicancy, vagrancy, 



The Administration of Justice 225 

and evasion of taxes are decided by these Courts 
summarily. 

The Cantonal Courts are, as already stated, the 
nearest equivalent in Holland to the English 
Police Courts. Their members, however, are 
legally trained and salaried men, though attached 
to each Court are several unsalaried deputies. 
The Judges of these Courts are appointed for life 
by the Crown, and the minor officials for a term 
of years. All the pett}" cases which in England 
come before the Police Court are in Holland 
adjudicated upon by the Cantonal Courts. 
Poaching, personal violence, crueltj- to animals, 
damage done to dwellings, trees, or crops, are all 
cases for these Courts, and so long as the fines im- 
posed do not exceed two guineas, their judgment is 
final, but in other cases the right of appeal exists. 

Mention has just been made of the fact that 
even from the low^est Court of I^aw in Holland 
the amateur judge is rigidly excluded. No one 
who has not acquired the diploma of Doctor of 
I^aws from one of the Dutch Universities is 
allowed to assume an}?- responsible duty associated 
with the administration of justice. The same 
severe requirement is imposed upon the legal pro- 
fession in general. The possession of the diploma 
of Doctor of Laws and I^etters alone entitles a 
man to practise as advocate. Amongst them- 
selves the members of the legal profession also 
exercise a sort of mutual surveillance by means 
of their Councils of Supervision and Discipline, 



226 Dutch Life 

whose duty it is to take care that nothing is done 
by an advocate which is contrary to the law or to 
the honour of the facult3^ These Councils are 
chosen from amongst the lawyers themselves in 
all towns where there are more than fourteen 
resident advocates, but in smaller places their 
duties are discharged by the Provincial or Arron- 
dissement Courts. Should a lawyer be guilty of 
any serious misdemeanour he is promptly ex- 
pelled from the Community of Advocates, and he 
may be even refused the right to plead in any of 
the public Courts. In passing, it is an interest- 
ing feature of the Dutch judicial system that in 
every place where there is a Court of Justice, 
higher or lower, there exists a Consultation 
Bureau where people without means may obtain 
gratuitous advice in legal matters. Unless a 
charge laid before this Consultation Bureau ap- 
pears on the face of it to be unsustainable, the 
Bureau appoints one of its members to act as 
legal adviser and counsellor to the applicant free 
of cost. In criminal cases the President of the 
Court concerned appoints a legal adviser for the 
accused, though the latter may choose another 
advocate if he pleases. 

It will be interesting to enter one of these 
Dutch Courts of I^aw, and a Cantonal Court may 
perhaps best serve as an example, since that re- 
sembles most closely the English forum of the 
people — the Police Court. Let us assume that 
we are privileged persons, though engaged in 



The Administration of Justice 227 

serious legal business. We are bidden to make 
an appearance at a quarter to eleven o'clock in 
the morning, and, presenting ourselves at that 
hour, we take our seats on comfortable chairs, 
ranged round a long square table in the large 
public waiting-room. As many other people are 
coming in, and the room threatens soon to be 
crowded, a considerate attendant, knowing that 
we are in favour with the grave and reverend 
seigniors who preside over the Court, shows us 
into another and smaller room, where one of the 
deputy Clerks (Greffier) is seated working at his 
books. One by one other persons come in, pay 
small sums of money, of which the deputy Clerk 
evidently keeps an exact account, together with 
the names and addresses of the payers, the 
amounts yet remaining due — everything, in fact, 
relating to each person's case. We note that 
some of the payers inquire how much they yet 
owe, and the sum being told them the}' forthwith 
take their departure. We learn that these are all 
people who were fined some time ago for petty 
offences, and who are, or pretend to be, unable to 
pay the full amount at once. Hence they are 
allowed to pay by instalments, and it is the dut}'- 
of the Clerk to keep an accurate account of their 
contributions. 

Our own turn having come round, we are now 
ushered into the Court, where we see His Wor- 
ship the Judge seated at the head — which happens 
to be the middle — of a long table, covered by the 



2 28 Dutch Life 

inevitable green cloth. Papers, ink-stands, and 
pen are before him ; at his left hand sits the Clerk, 
and next to him the first deputy Clerk. We ob- 
serve, too, how carefully the proprieties are 
observed in the matter of dress. All the judicial 
functionaries present wear a costume consisting 
of a black toga reaching to the heels, with a 
white bef, or collar-band, hanging in front 
half-way down to the waist and also a black 
barrette, or square cap, as in France. 

Five persons are seated in the chairs next to 
ours and opposite to the Judge, They have just 
testified that the last will of their parent has been 
duly carried out, and that each of them has re- 
ceived his share, being in this case " 3887 guild- 
ers, 7>^ cents" (don't forget the half-cent, for 
attention to minutiae is one of those characteristics 
of the Dutch which strikes us at every turn). 
Presently the Judge asks the eldest of the party 
whether his name is not " So-and-so." The 
answer being in the affirmative, His Worship 
nods to the Clerk, who begins to read out in clear 
and measured tones — 

" I, So-and-so (description and address follow), 
hereby declare and testify to having received as 
my share in the heritage of my parent the sum 
legally apportioned to me, being 3887 guilders, 
7>^ cents." 

Then the Judge asks : " Are you prepared to 
swear that this is true, and that as far as you 
know nothing is kept behind so that justice is not 



The Administration of Justice 229 

fully carried out ? " This is the legal formula in 
use upon such an occasion, and it produces the 
expected reply. " Very well, then," proceeds 
the Judge, * ' repeat after me, ' So truly help me 
God Almighty ! ' " The familiar words of the 
Dutch oath are accompanied by the uplifting of 
the right hand and the pointing to Heaven of the 
first two fingers. Then follow the other four 
members of the family in order of age. All of 
them swear in the usual words except the second 
daughter, who demurs, on which the judicial 
eyebrows are raised in surprise. It appears that 
the maiden suffers from religious scruples, being 
firmly of opinion that swearing an oath is forbid- 
den by Holy Scripture. The Judge listens re- 
spectfully, and simply answers, " Then repeat 
after me, ' I hereby solemnly declare that the 
words read out to me just now are the truth, 
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,' " 
The conscientious witness having no objection to 
a simple af&rmation, the words are promptly re- 
peated, the business is completed, and the party 
are all allowed to withdraw. Now our own turn 
has come. One of our party, w^e will assume, has 
been appointed by the Cantonal Judge to be 
guardian over a minor son of another of our 
number. All declare who, what, and whence 
they are, and that the guardian has received his 
appointment with their common consent, while 
the guardian himself makes formal declaration of 
accepting the duty. He is thereupon sworn by 



230 Dutch Life 

the Judge in the occupation of his ofl&ce, promis- 
ing " to act in all things as a true and faithful 
guardian should act, so truly help me God Al- 
mighty. ' ' These several incidents are fairly typi- 
cal of the sort of business which occupies the 
attention of these minor Courts. As we leave 
the building, however, we learn another piece of 
interesting information in the course of conversa- 
tion with the deputy Clerk whose acquaintance 
we first made. It is that the principle of ' ' pun- 
ishment by instalments ' ' is applied in the case 
of the poorer classes, not merely in the matter of 
fines, but also of imprisonment, save in criminal 
cases. Many a poor man, for instance, who 
shortly after being sentenced to, say, a week's or 
a fortnight's imprisonment has happened to find 
employment, would be ruined if compelled to go 
to prison at once. He is therefore allowed, as in 
Russia, to select his own time for surrendering 
himself to the prison authorities, and if, as often 
happens in poaching cases, two different offences 
have brought upon him two terms of imprison- 
ment, he is allowed to come before the Judge, 
with the request that he may combine these two 
terms, beginning his incarceration at a fixed date. 
The Court to whose clemency he thus appeals 
generally grants the request, and the man is thus 
enabled to work for his livelihood whilst the de- 
mand for labour is general, and to go to prison 
when he happens to be out of work, and would 
only be one mouth more to feed at home, where 



The Administration of Justice 



2^1 



his wife and children already find diflficulty 
enough in making both ends meet. When im- 
prisonment is thus postponed the offender receives 
from the Court a document on the presentation of 
which at the prison door the Master of the prison 
will admit him as a temporary occupant of one of 
the cells. Old gaol-birds, however, are not treated 
so tenderly, but the Judges soon learn by experi- 
ence when and how to apply this merciful arrange- 
ment, and when to refuse it altogether. 

In general the statistics of crime give Holland 
a decidedly favourable reputation. Serious mis- 
demeanours are comparatively rare. Crimes like 
burglary, theft, and the like are certainly com- 
mitted often enough, but there is no evidence to 
show that they are on the increase, while life and 
propert}^ are at least as secure in the large Dutch 
towns as anywhere else in Europe. The Hague, 
though a city of 220,000 inhabitants, is sufficiently 
protected by the comparatively small number of 
220 policemen. Rotterdam and Amsterdam both 
have a larger number of policemen per thousand 
inhabitants than The Hague, but this is natural, 
owing to the more heterogeneous character of the 
population of these great commercial centres. It 
is a notable fact that in every town in Holland 
the Burgomaster or Mayor is the supreme head 
of the police, and that the Chief Commissary of 
Police must not merely co-operate with him but 
is in the last resort subject to his direct command. 

In spite of the fact that Courts of summary 



232 Dutch Life 

jurisdiction of the English type do not exist in 
Holland, the police authority possesses a con- 
siderable amount of power. Mention has been 
made of the process of ' *" verbalisation ' ' as applied 
to common misdemeanours. In the case of 
drunkenness or fighting, however, the ofienders 
are at once taken before the Commissary of 
Police, who promptl}^ deals with them. Offences 
against which the police are entirely powerless 
are those of adulteration of food, household quar- 
rels so long as they remain within certain bounds, 
and an offence of quite modern origin known as 
' ' bottle-drawing ' ' {A^iglice, "long-firm frauds ' ')• 
This last is an ingenious species of fraud which 
has become v^ery common in Holland of late 
years. A person orders a quantity of goods from 
merchants of various towns on the pretence of 
opening accounts, which he promises will quickly 
assume large dimensions. Consignment after 
consignment of wares is sent, but never paid for, 
and when at last the too trustful merchant dis- 
covers that he has been playing into the hands 
of a swindler he gets no redress, for the artful 
schemer has disappeared, taking with him the 
proceeds of the goods received. For a time this 
sort of fraud was quite popular, but then the eyes 
of the business community were opened, and the 
strong hand of the law fell upon several offenders 
with crushing weight, after which " bottle- 
drawing " lost in attractiveness. On the whole, 
the police in Holland are commendably energetic 



The Administration of Justice 233 

as well as dutiful, and the relationship between 
the police authority and the public is generally a 
friendly and trustful one. 

It may be noted that the Dutch law strongly 
discourages divorce. In general the present 
generation is apt to regard separation and divorce 
with greater favour than its fathers did, but 
though this feeling may to some extent influence 
the decisions of Dutch Judges in divorce proceed- 
ings, the law itself, strictly interpreted, offers 
little hope to those who would weaken the mar- 
riage tie. When married people disagree to such 
an extent that a rupture between them is immi- 
nent, and a demand for divorce is made, proof is 
required that the demand comes only from one 
side, for divorce by common consent is against 
the law except in cases of adultery. In every 
other case the Judge of the Cantonal Court must 
do his utmost to effect a reconciliation. Should, 
however, a demand for divorce be repeated, this 
same Judge, or a Judge of a Superior Court, must 
again endeavour to bring the parties together, 
and only in the event of failure is judicial separa- 
tion a mensd et thoro pronounced, and this sepa- 
ration must exist for a number of years — as a rule 
seven — before actual divorce can take place. 
Nevertheless, both separation and divorce are far 
more frequent nowadays than ten or twenty years 
ago, owing largely to the judicial disposition to 
interpret the law more in accordance with what 
are known as ' ' modern ideas. ' ' 



234 Dutch Life 

Holland is one of the few countries which no 
longer tolerate capital punishment. It was abol- 
ished thirty years ago, and, in spite of the strenu- 
ous efforts of the reactionary party, it is not likely 
to be re-established. Quite recently, Mr. C. 
Loosjes wrote a pamphlet in advocacy of the re- 
enactment of capital punishment, and his position 
at the Ministry of Justice gave to this work con- 
siderable weight. His contention was that since 
capital punishment was abolished, the crimes of 
murder, attempted murder, poisoning, and parri- 
cide had increased, but Mr. Loosjes failed to 
make sufficient allowance for the fact that during 
the period covered by his statistics the population 
of the country had greatly increased. The fact 
is that during the twenty years preceding abolition 
considerably more crimes punishable by death 
occurred than during the twenty years following 
that act of clemency, civilization, and enlighten- 
ment, while as compared with other countries 
Holland takes a very favourable position indeed, 
standing, together with England, Belgium, and 
Germany, at the head of the nations having the 
smallest number of crimes of a kind usually 
punished by death. 




CHAPTKR XIX 



REJIvIGIOUS LrlE^K AND THOUGHT 



THB Dutch are a thoroughly religious people. 
Religious sentiments and introspective in- 
clinations were bound to develop and prosper in 
the I^ow lyands, where vast plains of fertile land 
are only limited by the endless sea below, the 
unfathomable blue of heaven above; where man 
feels himself an atom, lost in the vastness of crea- 
tion, yet safe, because he is placed there by the 
will of a beneficent Maker. 

Introspective, personal, individualistic, self- 
centred are their painters and their poets. These 
were greatly so when Holland's fleets ruled the 
seas, and when Holland's influence and power 
were felt far beyond its own narrow frontiers ; 
and they are still so in our days. 

This individualism accounts for the many sects 
found among the Dutch Reformed, The Roman 
Catholic Church, the only episcopacy in Holland, 
numbers only two sections : those — the majority 
— who admit the infallibility of the Pope, and 
those — a sn^all minority — who, although recog- 
nising the Pope as chief of the Church, do not 
235 



236 Dutch Life 

agree with the decisions of the Vatican Council 
of 1870, proclaiming this papal infallibility. The 
Roman Catholic Church is a tolerably prospering 
institution, thanks to the absolute freedom which 
it, like all the sister Churches, enjoys in Holland, 
where, ever since the revolution of 1795, a State 
Church has been an unknown thing. On the 
whole, however, its growth is not keeping pace 
with the increase of the population. A former 
census indicated that the Roman Catholics num- 
bered two-fifths of the whole population, but the 
latest puts them down at only one-third, and in 
the Second Chamber of the States-General there 
are only twenty-five Roman Catholic members 
out of a total of a hundred representatives. Their 
present organisation dates from 1853, when the 
L^iberals agreed to the appointment by the Pope 
of one Archbishop in Utrecht, and four Bishops 
in Haarlem, Bois-le-Duc, Breda, and Roermond. 
The bishoprics are divided in decanates, and in 
1858 the Pope completed the organisation by in- 
stituting chapters, each governed by one provost 
and eight canons. The Archbishops and Bishops 
do not ofl&cially participate in political life in 
Holland, although, as a matter of course, nobody 
can help noticing their influence upon the elect- 
orate ; the minor clergy as a rule are less discreet 
in this matter than their chiefs, whereas the 
political leader of the Roman Catholics in the 
Second Chamber is Dr. Herman Schaepman, a 
priest, a professor at the Seminary of Rysenburg, 



Religious Life and Thought 237 

a statesman, an orator, and a poet, whose quin- 
tuple attainments are equally admired, although 
his scientific importance is not generally con- 
sidered to be quite as weighty as the rest of his 
remarkable personality. 

Far more significant for Dutch religious life are 
the other two-thirds of the population, Protestants 
to the backbone. The former State Church, the 
Netherlands Reformed Church, was left in a most 
awkward position when, in 1795, disestablishment 
was forced upon it. Up till 1848, when Jan 
Rudolf Thorbecke saved Holland and the Roj^al 
House from another revolution, by imposing a 
Liberal constitution upon the reluctant King 
William II., the Netherlands Reformed Church 
had no sound, well-regulated status ; but not be- 
fore 1870 was the last tie connecting State and 
Church severed. The State now no longer exer- 
cises spiritual or other supervision, but merely pays 
a yearh' allowance to the various clergymen with- 
out vindicating or claiming any rights in return. 

On the other hand, the State no longer pays or 
appoints University professors to teach specific 
reformed theology ; every Church of every de- 
scription looks after this on behalf of its own 
students, and whereas the Roman Catholic clergj'- 
are educated at the Seminaries, the General 
Synod, the supreme governing board of the 
Netherlands Reformed Church, nominates two 
professors for each of the four Dutch Universities 
at Leyden, Utrecht, Groningen, and Amsterdam. 



238 Dutch Life 

It is necessary to point here to a peculiaritj'^ in 
Dutch religious and political life. At the time 
when lyiberal politics were developing in Hol- 
land, critical and historical research made itself 
conspicuous in the teaching of leading Dutch 
ecclesiastics like Scholten and Kuenen, The 
Reformation upset the Divine authority of the 
Pope ; these modern critics denied and destroyed 
the faith in the Divine authority of the Bible. 
They were educated, and afterwards taught their 
lessons at the University of Ive5''den, where the 
future lyiberal statesmen of Holland were prepar- 
ing for their task; they had the same ideals, the 
same modes of thought. 

The ecclesiastics called themselves " Moderns " ; 
the politicians were designated " lyiberals." 
Both vindicated the supreme right of freedom 
in everything : free criticism, free research, free 
thought, free speech. The reign of pure intel- 
lectualism became supreme; every emotion, every 
sentiment was dissected, measured by the measure 
of inexorable logic ; and rationalism, later doomed 
to bankruptcy, was in those days all-triumphant. 

So it came about that the Liberals were " Mod- 
erns " and the " Moderns " Liberals ; and as the 
State was for a quarter of a century governed by 
Liberals who involuntarily made the Church 
" Modern," populated by Liberals, so it also 
came about that their religious opponents became 
their political foes. 

These opponents were called "Orthodox"; 




INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH AT DELFTSHAVEN WHERE THE PILGRIM 
FATHERS WORSHIPPED BEFORE LEAVING FOR NEW ENGLAND 



Religious Life and Thought 239 

they felt this imposition of liberty as the worst 
coercion one man could apply to another — the 
coercion of the conscience. They did not care to 
see the Bible treated as a piece of sheer human 
manufacture, however exalted ; they felt it a 
burning shame to have to pay taxes towards the 
maintenance of irreligious, or even anti-religious, 
scientific chairs and colleges. They thought of 
their stern forefathers, who had broken the power 
of the mighty Spanish Empire, strengthened by 
God's Word and by that only. To them the 
Netherlands Reformed Church and the Nether- 
lands State lost their sound and only safe basis 
by the assertion that there was something change- 
able, something non-eternal in the Bible ; that 
this Bible, revered as containing the Holy Scrip- 
tures, might be replaced by any human system of 
thought to serve as the foundation for the struc- 
ture of the State, 

This blending of Modernism and Liberalism 
afforded to them absolute proof that any aban- 
donment of the ancient creed and the revered 
Confession meant ruin both to State and Church. 
So they followed the time-honoured practice of 
the Dutch race; they separated, broke awaj^ from 
a species of liberty which was not of their liking, 
and became " Anti-Revolutionists" and " Sepa- 
ratists " {Afgescheidenen) ; Calvin, with his 
Staunch, severe Protestantism, being their ideal 
as statesman and spiritual leader. 

The Dutch language has two words for one 



240 Dutch Life 

thing: Hervorming and Reformatie. But there 
is a vast difference between the Netherlands 
Hervormde and the Netherlands Gereformeerde 
Churches. The former is the late State Church, 
the latter is the Church of the Afgescheidenen, who, 
before joining the Netherlands Gereformeerde, 
called themselves Chi'isielyk Gerefonneerde. These 
two joined in 1892, and are now known as the 
Gereformeerde Kerken (the Reformed Churches). 
Their leader is Professor Abraham Kuyper, the 
present President Minister of the Netherlands. 
He, like Dr. Schaepman, is a born orator, a pro- 
lific author, a scientific ecclesiastic, a strong demo- 
cratic leader of men, an admirable organiser, 
and perhaps the most brilliant journalist in Hol- 
land ; but beyond this, he is a staunch Protestant 
of the strictest Calvinistic type, to whom the 
Roman Catholic Church is a blasphemous and 
idolatrous institution. In 1879, he created the 
" Society for Higher Education on a Reformed 
Basis," and in 1880 his " Free University " was 
consecrated in the " Nieuwe Kerk " (the New 
Church) at Amsterdam, Dr. Kuyper ever since 
the opening acting as one of the professors. His 
flock is now strong in numbers, but his and their 
faith is stronger and has worked miracles, build- 
ing churches and schools, maintaining preachers 
and teachers, finding money for everything, and 
finally, for the second time, gaining a political 
victory, with the help of such strange auxiliaries 
as the Roman Catholics. What unites them is 



Religious Life and Thought 241 

the conviction they have in common that a State 
and a Government not led themselves by religion 
must lead a nation to perdition. To them Liberal 
Governments, although theoretically free from 
clerical influence, are actually led and unduly 
influenced by the "Modern" Protestants of 
Holland. These "Modern" Protestants reject 
the dogma of the Holy Trinity and various other 
dogmas which the Roman Catholics and the 
Orthodox Protestants consider the essence of the 
Christian creed ; they are, therefore, in the opin- 
ion of the latter, mere atheists, and consequently 
unfit to rule the destinies of a nation. 

These " Modern " Protestants came to the fore 
during the last fifty years. The University of 
Groningen taught a humanism, which created a 
reaction towards the ancient confessors of the 
creed, the " Reveil, " or awakening. Subsequently 
modern cosmosophy tried to adjust its opinions to 
modern science and the results of modern research 
in every branch of human knowledge. This was 
a great blow to the ancestral faith and the vener- 
able Confession. In those days Coenraad Busken 
Huet published his Letters on the Bible, popular- 
ising the scientific criticisms of the Sacred Book. 
Gradually I^eyden's University took the lead, 
Johannes Henricus Scholten, Abraham Kuenen, 
and the Utrecht philosopher Cornelis Willem 
Opzoomer assisting the new movement by their 
profound knowledge, their irresistible logic, their 
brilliant style, and their high enthusiasm. In 



242 Dutch Life 

those years Holland went through all the throes 
accompanying the appearance of new life; it was 
a time of intellectual stress and strain, a time of 
controversial storm in which unrelenting criticism 
and critical research carried away everything that 
could not exist in the light of exact science and 
exacter thinking. 

Jacobus Izaak Doedes, Johannes Jacobus van 
Oosterzee, Chantepie de la Saussaye, the success- 
ors of Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, Jan Rudolf 
Thorbecke's greatest opponent, and Isaac da 
Costa, WillemBilderdyk's famous pupil, defended 
the ancient creed, but the General Synod was 
" Modern " and the " Orthodox " had a difficult 
time. 

In numbers of places the " domines," or 
preachers, were Orthodox, and in order to pro- 
vide their own followers with spiritual fare, the 
"Moderns" established in 1870 the Neder- 
landsche Protestantetibond, or Netherlands Pro- 
testant I,eague. This I,eague sees that all over 
the country " Modern " sermons are preached, 
" Modern " Sunday-schools instituted, meetings 
of Protestants arranged, and everything is done 
that can support or promote religious life. 

Besides these two large bodies of Protestants, 
the Orthodox and the Moderns, Holland has a 
good many IvUtherans, Baptists, or Mennonites, 
and Remonstrants. Of the Lutherans the most 
numerous are the Evangelical Lutherans, who 
faithfully maintain the Augsburg Confession, . 



Religious Life and Thought 243 

while the Moderns, known as Reinstated I^uther- 
ans, abandoned that organ of doctrine. There is 
not, however, much animosity between the two 
sects at the present time, neither making a strong 
point of dogma, but both giving a prominent 
place to the demands of Christian practice. 

The Mennonites — so called after the Dutch re- 
former Menno Simons (1496-1561) — were in olden 
times the most persecuted Protestants of all. 
Roman Catholics, I^utherans, and Calvinists were 
equally hard upon them, and many of them lost 
their lives on account of their convictions. They 
have no test, no church, no rite, no clergy. 
They have fraternities, and in these the minister 
is the vooi^ganger (guide or leader), though 
his education, social position, and general duties 
are the same as those of all other Protestant min- 
isters. In Amsterdam they have their own 
Seminary, and the names of Professors Samuel 
Muller, Sytske Hoekstra Bzn, Jacob Gysbert de 
Hoop Schefifer, and Jan van Gilse are honoured 
in the country and outside the " General Baptist 
Society," as their central body is called. Their 
teaching and preaching appeal not only to the 
religious, but very strongly to the ethical and 
moral tendencies of humanity. 

The Remonstrants (formerly Arminians) came 
upon the scene towards the end of the sixteenth 
century. Dirk Vorlkertsz Coornhert had written 
a very able refutation of the dogma of predestina- 
tion. The Town Council of Amsterdam ordered 



244 Dutch Life 

Jacob Arminius to write a book against Coorn. 
hert's work. But behold! when Arminius settled 
down to the task, and read Coornhert's argument 
carefully, he came to the conclusion that the 
other was right, and from an opponent he turned 
into a powerful ally. This happ}^ lack of bias has 
ever been the particular feature of Arminian 
doctrine, and, like the Mennonites, the Remon- 
strants hold that the value of religion is deter- 
mined by its beneficial influence on ethics. 
Considering the ethical or social fermentation 
which Holland, like every other country, has 
witnessed during the last decades, it is not sur- 
prising to find a great many " Modern " members 
of the Netherlands Hervormde Kerk, joining 
the Remonstrant fraternity, which affords abso- 
lute liberty as regards dogma and confession, and 
at the same time satisfies their altruistic inclina- 
tions. 

It is one of the commonest contentions of the 
age that ethics and religion can exist in one being 
independently of each other. One very advanced 
sect of " Modern Dutch Protestants — not yet, 
however, numbering a great many adherents — 
does not go quite to this extreme, but in the Vrye 
Gemeente, or "Free Community," they repre- 
sent religion as a thing complete in itself, a thing 
purely pertaining to the individual, personal 
spiritual life. This * ' Free Community ' ' was es- 
tablished in 1878 by two Amsterdam ministers, 
Pieter Hermannus Hugenholtz and Frederik 



Religious Life and Thought 245 

Willem Nicolaas Hugenholtz. They neither ob- 
serve Ascension Day nor Whitsuntide ; they 
have abolished Baptism and the Kucharist ; and, 
however charitable the members may be in their 
private capacities, the " Free Community," as 
such, does not practise poor-relief or charity in 
any form. 

In this connexion it is interesting to add a few 
words about Dutch Free Masonry. The Dutch 
Free Masons of the present day are not so much 
moralists as ethicists. The well-being of the 
commonwealth based upon the well-being of every 
member — spiritually, intellectually, and materi- 
ally—is their threefold aim. They feel and 
express profound admiration for every form of 
religious life, utterly indifferent as to the exist- 
ence or non-existence of any dogma accompany- 
ing it, since they freely realise how strong a 
motive religion is to ethics ; they admit Roman 
Catholics, Orthodox or Modern Protestants, Jews, 
Buddhists, Mohammedans, Atheists, and Agnos- 
tics into their fraternity, no confessional test 
whatever being put to anyone; they only require 
faithful co-operation towards the general better- 
ment of human society as a whole. 

The Hebrew Church has also enjoyed perfect 
freedom ever since the Constitution of 1848 made 
the right of congregation absolute and incontest- 
able. But after being fettered during so many 
centuries, it took even this energetic and tenacious 
race some twenty years to shake itself free from 



!46 



Dutch Life 



the lingering influences of long-protracted re- 
straint. It was only in 1S70 that the Netherlands 
Israelitic Congregation was established; the Por- 
tuguese Jews in Holland have a separate governing 
body. Modern and ancient views clash here, as 
everywhere else, but the consciousness of their 
illustrious history, not sullied, but adorned with 
greater brilliancy by centuries of persecution, be- 
comes gradually more powerful in the mind of the 
Dutch Jew, and invigorates his natural and 
national tendency towards the ancient rites and 
doctrines of his classic creed. 




CHAPTER XX 



the; army and navy 



AIvTHOUGH the Dutch maintained their in- 
dependence in the sixteenth century against 
the most formidable regular army in Europe, and 
also did their fair share of fighting in the seven- 
teenth and eighteenth centuries, they have long 
ceased to aspire to the rank of a military Power. 
The separation from Belgium in 1830-31 put an 
end to the Orange policy of creating a powerful 
Netherland State from Lorraine to the North Sea 
which could hold its own with either France or 
Prussia, and since that period Holland has gradu- 
ally sunk, and seemingly without discontent, into 
the position of a third-rate Power. This has 
taken place without any apparent loss of the old 
love of independence, but it has necessarily been 
accompanied by a diminution not only of the 
military spirit, but of military efficiency and 
readiness. The spectacle of immense armies of 
millions of men in the neighbouring States seems 
to have produced a sense of helplessness among 
the people of the Netherlands, and to have led 
them to believe that resistance, were it needful, 
247 



248 Dutch Life 

would be futile. The inglorious campaign of 
1794, when Pichegru occupied Holland almost 
without a blow, serves as a sort of object-lesson 
to demonstrate the hopelessness of any attempt at 
resistance, instead of the creditable campaign of 
1793, when the Dutch expelled Dumouriez from 
their country. Curiously enough, the Transvaal 
War has revived national hope and confidence by 
showing what a well-armed people without mili- 
tary training can do when standing on the defens- 
ive. Time is necessary to prove whether this 
new sentiment will remove the fatalistic feeling 
of helplessness that has been creeping over Dutch 
public men, and brace them to efforts worthy of 
their ancestry. 

The sense of impotency has not been confined 
to the land forces alone. In that matter it was 
felt that a nation of less than five millions could 
not compete with those that numbered forty and 
fifty millions. But the same sentiment exists 
also with regard to maritime power, where the 
competition is not of men, but of money. The 
immense navies of modern days, and the enormous 
cost of their maintenance and renovation, seem 
to exclude small States from the rank of naval 
Powers. Holland, with the finest material for 
manning a navy of any Continental State, can be 
no exception to the general rule. Her little navy 
is a model of eSiciency, her small cruisers of 5000 
tons are not surpassed by any of the same size, 
and the morale of her officers, one may not doubt, 



The Army and Navy 249 

is worthy of the service that produced not only 
the Ruyters and Tromps of old days, but Suffren, 
our most able opponent during the long Napo- 
leonic struggle. None the less, the Dutch navy 
remains a small navy, quite overshadowed by the 
immense organisations of the present age, and 
without any possible chance of competing with 
them. 

This self-evident fact exercises a depressing 
influence on Dutch opinion, which has latterly 
shown a marked desire to all}': the country with 
some other. An alliance with Belgium, that of 
the North and South Netherlauders, the old Union 
of the Provinces broken in 1579 and imperfectly 
restored from 18 15 to 1830, would be hailed with 
delight. The diflQculty of attaining this consoli- 
dation of Netherland opinion and resources, on 
account of pronounced religious differences, has 
resulted in the formation of a considerable body 
of opinion favourable to an alliance with Ger- 
many. For the moment, events in South Africa 
have placed the old Knglish party in a hopeless 
minority. 

Although the Dutch possess in probably an un- 
abated degree all the sturdy characteristics that 
distinguished them of old, it seems as if prosper- 
ity had somewhat blunted the edge of patriotism, 
at least to the extent of rendering them unwilling 
to submit to the hardships of the conscription, 
when fully applied to the whole people. As a 
consequence the Dutch do not come under the 



250 Dutch Life 

head of an armed nation, and the war effective of 
their army is less than 70,000 men. 

The regulations applying to the army are based 
on the law of 1861, which was modified in one 
important particular by an Act of 1898. The 
army was to be raised partly by conscription and 
partly by voluntary enlistment. The annual 
contingent by conscription was fixed at 11,000 
men. Every man became liable to conscription 
at the age of nineteen, but as the right of pur- 
chasing exemption continued in force until the 
Act of 1898 referred to, all well-to-do persons so 
minded escaped from the obligation of military 
service. At the same time its conditions were 
made as light as possible. Nominally the con- 
scripts had to serve for five years, but in reality 
they remained one year with the colours, and after- 
wards were called out for only six weeks' training 
during each of the four subsequent years. The 
regular army thus obtained mustered on a peace 
footing 26,000 men and 2000 ofiicers, and on a 
war footing 68,000 officers and men and 108 guns, 
excluding fortress artillery. Considering the 
interests entrusted to its charge, the Dutch army 
must be pronounced the weakest of any State 
possessing colonies — a position of no inconsider- 
able importance from the historical and political 
point of view. 

It will be said, no doubt, that Holland possesses 
other land forces besides her regular army, and 
this is true, but they are by the admission of the 



The Army and Navy 251 

i)utcli themselves, ill organised and not up to the 
level of their duties. There is the Schutterij, or 
National Volunteer force — perhaps Militia would 
be a more correct term, because the law creating 
it is based on compulsion. The law organising 
the Schutterij was passed in April, 1827, by 
which all males were required to serve in it be- 
tween the ages of twenty-five and thirty, and from 
thirty to thirty-five in the Schutterij reserve. An 
active division is formed out of unmarried men 
and widowers without children. This division 
would be mobilised immediately on the outbreak 
of war, and would take its place alongside the 
regular army. It probably numbers five thousand 
men out of the total of 45,000 active Schutterij. 
The reserve Schutterij does not exceed 40,000, 
but behind all these is what is termed indiffer- 
ently the Landsturm or the levie en masse. There 
is only one defect in this arrangement, which is 
that by far the larger portion of the population 
has never had any military training except that 
given to the Schutterij, which is practically none 
at all . A levee en masse in Holland would have 
precisely the value, and no more, that it would 
have in any other non-military State which either 
did not possess a regular army of adequate ej6&- 
ciency and strength, or which had not passed its 
population through the ranks of a conscript army. 
The Dutch Schutterij is ostensibly based on the 
model of the Swiss Rifle Clubs, and the obligatory 
part of its service relates to rifle-practice at the 



252 Dutch Life 

targets, but there the similarity ends. There is 
no room to question the eflSciency of the Swiss 
marksmen, and the tests applied are very severe. 
But in Holland the practice is very diflferent. 
The Schutterij meetings are made the excuse for 
jollity, eating, and drinking. They are rather 
picnics than assemblies for the serious purpose of 
qualifying as national defenders, Kven in marks- 
manship the ranges are so short, and the eflB.ciency 
expected so meagre, that the military value of 
this civic force is exceedingly dubious. It could 
only be compared with that of the Garde Civique 
of Belgium, and with neither the Swiss Rifle 
Corps nor our own Volunteers. 

Curiously enough, there is, however, an off- 
shoot of the Schutterij based also on the old 
organisation of an ancient guild called the 
" Sharpshooters," Its members are supposed to 
be good shots, or at least to take pains to become 
so, and they practise at something approaching 
long ranges. But it is a very limited and some- 
what exclusive organisation based on a consider- 
able subscription. It is the society or club of 
well-to-do persons with a bent towards rifle-prac- 
tice. An application to the Schutterij of the 
obligations forming part of the voluntary and 
self-imposed conditions accepted by the " Sharp- 
shooters" would, no doubt, add much to its 
efl&ciency, and might in time give Holland a ser- 
viceable auxiliary corps of riflemen. 

Besides the home army, Holland possesses a 



The Army and Navy 253 

very considerable Colonial army which is com- 
monly known as the Indian contingent. This 
force garrisons Java, Sumatra, and the other 
colonies in the East. The army of the Kast 
Indies numbers 13,000 Europeans and 17,000 
natives, principally Malays of Java. Besides 
this regular garrison a Schutterij force is main- 
tained in Java. It consists of 4000 Europeans 
and 6000 natives. The Europeans are the plant- 
ers and the members of the civil service. The 
natives are the retainers of some of the native 
princes, and the overseers and more responsible 
men employed on the European plantations. 
The total garrison of the Dutch East Indies is 
consequently a very considerable one, viewed by 
the light of its duties, but allowance has to be 
made for the interminable war in Atchin, which 
keeps several thousand men permanently en- 
gaged, and never seems nearer an ending. 

The Dutch authorities find great difficulty in 
recruiting their army for the East Indies, and 
with the growth of prosperity this difficulty in- 
creases. Indeed, the garrison could not be main- 
tained at its present high strength but for the 
numerous volunteers who come forward for this 
well-paid service from Germany and Belgium. 
At one time these outside recruits became so 
numerous owing to the tempting offers made to 
them by the Dutch authorities that the two Gov- 
ernments interested presented formal protests 
against their proceedings. Germany has always 



254 Dutch Life 

been very sore on the subject of losing any of her 
soldiers, and Belgium has much need of all the 
men likely to serve abroad in the Congo State. 
There are still foreigners of the German and Bel- 
gian races in the Dutch Indian army, but any 
design of turning it into a Foreign I^egion on the 
same model as that of the force which has served 
France so well in Algeria and her colonies has 
fallen through. 

The onl)^ active service or practical experience 
of war which the Dutch army has had since the 
end of the struggle with Belgium has been in the 
East Indies. The lyombock expedition of 1894 is 
still remembered for its losses and disasters, but 
on that occasion the Dutch displayed a fine spirit 
of fortitude under a reverse, and ended the cam- 
paign by bringing the hostile Sultan to reason. 
The long struggle with the Atchinese has been 
marked by heroism on both sides, and is evidence 
that the Dutch have not lost their old tenacity. 
At the same time the Government finds consider- 
able difiiculty in obtaining the requisite number 
of voluntary exiles to preserve its possessions in 
the Eastern Archipelago, and it may find itself 
obliged to reduce the effective strength of its 
garrison. 

Moreover, the hygienic conditions are still ex- 
tremely unfavourable, and the rate of mortality 
among Europeans in Java and the Celebes is par- 
ticularly high. It may be no longer true, as was 
said with perhaps some exaggeration in the time 



The Army and Navy 255 

of Marshal Daendels at the beginning of last 
century, that the European Dutch garrisons die 
out every three years, but the death-rate is cer- 
tainly high and a considerable part of the garrison 
returns invalided by fever a very few months after 
its arrival in the East. At present the Dutch 
Indies are absolutely safe because England does 
not covet them, and would never dream of molest- 
ing the Dutch in them provided she herself re- 
mains unmolested. But should international 
competitions break out in that quarter of the 
world Holland might experience some difficulty in 
maintaining her garrison at an adequate strength 
for the proper discharge of her international 
duties, but this contingency is not likely to pre- 
sent itself for another twenty or thirty years. 

The troops of the regular Dutch army will 
compare favourably with any of their neighbours. 
They are not as stiff on parade as the Germans, 
and they are more solid than the French. Their 
physique is good, although, owing to the practice 
of purchasing a substitute, which has too lately 
ceased to allow of the change to come into full 
effect, the infantry contains an abnormal number 
of short men, which gives a misleading idea of 
the average height of the race. The minimum 
height of the infantry soldier is 5 ft. 1% ins., 
which is very low for a people whose general 
stature is equal to that of the British. There is 
certainly one point in which the Dutch soldiers 
strike the observer as being different from their 



256 Dutch Life 

neighbours. They seem light-hearted and jovial, 
not at all oppressed by the severe claims of dis- 
cipline, and at the same time quite free from the 
slouch that gives the Belgian linesman a non- 
military appearance. 

The strength of the Dutch army lies un- 
doubtedly in its corps of officers, a body of speci- 
ally qualified men fitted to discharge the duties 
that devolve on the leaders of any arm5\ The 
majority of these pass through the Royal Mili- 
tary Academy, an institution from which Eng- 
land might borrow some features with advantage. 
Candidates are admitted between the ages of 
fifteen and eighteen, and undergo a course of four 
years before they are eligible for a commission. 
As the charges at the Academy are limited to £22. 
\os. a year, the expense of becoming an officer 
forms no prohibitive barrier, and in a course of 
training spread over four 5'ears the cadet can be 
turned into a fully qualified ojSficer before he is 
entrusted with the discharge of practical duties. 
Moreover, his training does not stop with his 
leaving the Academy. It is supposed to be neces- 
sary to complete it by a further course in camps 
of instruction, and subsequently by what are 
called State missions in the temporary service of 
other armies. This practice is fairly general on 
the Continent, although it is never resorted to by 
the British, who are less acquainted with the 
organisation of Continental armies than is the 
case with even third or fourth-rate States. 



The Army and Navy 257 

The headquarters of the Dutch Engineers are 
at Utrecht, of the Artillery at Zwolle, of the In- 
fantry at The Hague, and of the Cavalry at Breda. 
Utrecht is the most important of these military 
stations, because the Engineers are the most im- 
portant branch of the army, and also because it is 
the centre of the canal and dyke system of Hol- 
land. The school or college of the State Civil 
Engineers, to whom is entrusted the care of the 
dykes, is at Utrecht. They are known as Water- 
slaat, and Utrecht may be held to supplement 
and complete the machinery existing at the capi- 
tal, Amsterdam, for flooding the country. In 
theory and on paper, the defence of Holland is 
based on the assumption that in the event of in- 
vasion the country surrounding Amsterdam to 
as far as Utrecht on one side and I^eyden on the 
other would be flooded. There are many who 
doubt whether the resolution to sanction the 
enormous attendant damage would be displayed. 
It is said that the national spirit does not beat so 
high as when the youthful William resorted to 
that measure in 1672 to baffle the French mon- 
arch, and then prepared his fleet, in the event of 
its failure, to convey the relics of Dutch greatness 
and the fortunes of Orange to a new home and 
country beyond the seas. On that occasion the 
waters did their work thoroughly well. But it is 
said that they might not accomplish what was 
expected of them on the next occasion, while the 
damage inflicted would remain. Nothing can 



258 Dutch Life 

solve this question save the practical test, but 
there is no reason to believe that at heart the 
Dutch race of to-day is less patriotic or resolute 
than formerly. 

At the same time a very important change has 
to be noted in the views of Dutch strategists. 
Formerly the whole system of national defence 
centred in Amsterdam, and it must be added that 
the dykes have been mainly constructed with the 
idea of flooding the country round it. This was 
the old plan, sanctioned by antiquity and custom, 
of defending the capital at all costs, and making 
it the final refuge of the race. But latterly the 
opinion has been spreading among military men 
that Rotterdam would make a far better place of 
final stand than Amsterdam, because the forts 
of the Texel once forced, the capital might be 
menaced by a naval attack from the Zuyder Zee 
or by the Northern Canal. In old days Amster- 
dam was safe from any naval descent, but the 
introduction of steam has laid it open to the at- 
tack at least of torpedo flotillas. The entrance to 
the Meuse, it is represented, could be made im- 
pregnable with little difficulty, and the approaches 
to Rotterdam from the land side are far more 
dependent on the proper restraining of the waters 
within their artificial or natural channels than 
those to Amsterdam. There is another argument 
in support of Rotterdam. It would be easier for 
Holland's allies to send aid there than to Amster- 
dam, while a strong position at Rotterdam would 



The Army and Navy 259 

seriously menace any hostile army at Utrecht, 
and contribute materially to the defence of Am- 
sterdam as well. But the Dutch are a slow 
people to move. Amsterdam is supposed to be 
ready to stand a siege at any time, whereas Rot- 
terdam's defences are mainly on paper. The 
garrison of Rotterdam is only a few hundred men, 
and to convert it into a fortified position would, 
no doubt, entail the outlay of a good many mill- 
ion florins. Still, the conviction is spreading 
that Rotterdam has supplanted Amsterdam as 
the real centre of Dutch prosperity and national 
life. 

The Schutterij is, singularly enough, not popu- 
lar. The reason for this is not very clear, as the 
duties are quite nominal, and in no material 
degree interfere with civil employment. The 
distaste to an)' form of military service is toler- 
ably general, and the advanced Radical party has 
adopted as one of its cries, " Nobody wishes to 
be a soldier." Probability points, however, not 
to the abolition of the Schutterij, but to its being 
made more eflacient, and consequentl)' the condi- 
tions of service in it must become more rigorous. 
There Js one portion of the duties of the Schut- 
terij which is far from unpopular with the men of 
the force. When a householder neglects to pay 
his taxes one or more militiamen are quartered 
on him, and he is obliged to supply his guests not 
merely with good food and lodging, but also with 
abundant supplies of tobacco and gin. Apart 



26o Dutch Life 

from such incidents, whicli one may not doubt 
from the nature of the penalty are exceedingly 
rare, the Schutterij seems to have rather a dull 
and monotonous time of it. 

There is one fact about the Dutch army that 
deserves mention. It is extremely well behaved, 
and the men give their oflScers very little trouble. 
The discipline is lighter than in most armies. 
There is an unusually kindly feeling between 
oflBcers and men for a Continental force, and at 
the same time the public and the military are on 
excellent terms with each other. This is, no 
doubt, due to the very short period served with 
the colours, and to the fact that the last four 
years, with the exception of six weeks annually in 
a camp or fortress, are passed in civil life at home. 

The Dutch navy, although small in comparison 
with its past achievements and with its present 
competitors, is admitted to be well organised, 
efl&cient in its condition, and manned by a fine 
personnel. It is generally said, perhaps unjustly, 
that the pick of the manhood of Holland joins the 
navy in preference to the army. One fact shows 
that there is no diiBBculty in obtaining the required 
number of recruits to man the fleet, for while the 
nominal law is that of conscription for the navy 
as well as for the army, all the necessary contin- 
gent is obtained by voluntary enlistment. No 
doubt the large fishing and boating classes pro- 
vide excellent material, and a comparatively short 
spell of service on board a man-of-war offers an 



The Army and Navy 261 

agreeable break in their lives. The Dutch being 
a nautical race by tradition as well as by the daily 
work of a large portion of them, there is nothing 
uncongenial in a naval career. No di£5culty is 
experienced in obtaining the services of the seven 
thousand seamen and two thousand five hundred 
marine infantry who form the permanent staff of 
the Dutch navy, and if the country's finances en- 
abled it to build more ships, there would be no 
serious difiiculty in providing the required num- 
ber of men to furnish their crews. 

In 1897 some steps were taken in this direction, 
and a credit of five millions sterling for a ship- 
building programme was voted. Its operations 
have not yet been brought to a conclusion, but a 
torpedo fleet has been created for the defence of 
the Zuyder Zee, supplementing the defences at 
Helder and the Texel. Something has also been 
done in the same direction for the defence of 
Batavia and the ports of Java. The Dutch navy 
might be correctly described as a good little one, 
quite equal to the everyday work required of it, 
but not of the size or standard to play an ambi- 
tious r61e. We should not, however, overlook 
the fact that its addition to the navy of another 
Power would be as important an augmentation of 
strength as was the case when Pichegru added 
the Dutch fleet to that of France by capturing it 
with cavalry and horse artillery while ice-bound 
in the Zuyder Zee. Nor can we always count on 
a Duncan to end the story as at Camperdown. 



262 Dutch Life 

The impression left on an observer of the mili- 
tary and naval classes in Holland is that they are 
not animated by a very strong martial spirit. 
Clothed in a military costume, they are still es- 
sentially men of peace, who would be sorry to 
commit an act of violence or do an injury to any- 
one. The officers as a class are devoted to the 
technical part of their work, and are thoroughly 
well posted in the science of war. But whether 
it is due to the long peace, to the spread of pro- 
sperity among all classes of the community, or to 
the lymphatic character of the race, it is not easy 
to persuade one's self that the Dutch army, taken 
as a whole, is a formidable instrument of war. 

This feeling must be corrected by a study of 
history, and by recognising that there are no 
symptoms of deterioration in the sturdy qualities 
of the Dutch people. Physically and morally the 
Netherlanders of to-day are the equals of their 
forefathers, but the conditions of their national 
life, the fortunate circumstances that have so long 
made them unacquainted with the terrible ordeals 
of war, have diverted their thoughts from a belli- 
cose policy, and have confirmed them in their 
peaceful leanings. How far these tendencies 
have diminished their fighting-power, and rend- 
ered them unequal to accept or bear the sacri- 
fices that would be entailed by any strenuous 
defence of their country against serious invasion 
by a Great Power, must remain a matter of 
opinion. Perhaps their organisation has become 



The Army and Navy 263 

somewhat rusty. Reforms are admitted to be 
necessary. The annual contingent is altogether 
too small for the needs of the age ; a great and 
efficient national reserve should be created ; and 
in good time the army ought to be raised to the 
numbers that would enable it to man and hold 
the numerous and excellent forts which have been 
constructed at all vital points. The Dutch plans 
of defence are excellent, but to carry them all out 
a very considerable army would be necessary, and 
at the present moment Holland possesses only the 
skeleton of an army. 

Leaving the question of numbers and military 
organisation aside, only praise can be given to 
the Dutch soldier individually. He is clean, 
civil, good-tempered, and with a far closer re- 
semblance to Englishmen in what we regard as 
essentials than any other Continental. The 
officers are in the truest sense gentlemen, free 
from swagger, and not overbearing towards their 
men and their civilian compatriots. They repre- 
sent a genuine type of manhood, free from arti- 
ficiality or falsehood. One feels instinctively 
that they say what they think, and that they will 
do rather more instead of less than they promise. 




CHAPTER XXI 

HOI,I,AND OVER SKA 

HOLLAND holds the second place among the 
successful colonising nations, though Pow- 
ers like England, France, and Germany surpass 
her in the actual area of their colonies and pro- 
tectorates. Besides her East Indian possessions, 
which form by far the most important part of her 
colonial empire, she holds Surinam, or Dutch 
Guiana, and six small islands, including Curasao, 
in the West Indies, and her colonial subjects 
number in all more than thirty-six millions, 
being as many as the colonial subjects of France 
and at least seven times the population of the 
Netherlands in Europe. The East Indian Archi- 
pelago belonging to the Netherlands consists of 
five large islands and a great number of smaller 
ones. It is not within the scope of a book like 
this to go into details of geographical division, 
but a glance at the map will show us that the 
three groups which make up this dependency are 
extended over a length of about three thousand 
miles, and include Java and Sumatra, Borneo, 
Celebes, New Guinea, the Timor Laut archipel- 
264 



Holland over Sea 265 

ago, and the Moluccas. The northern part of 
Borneo is a British possession, and the eastern 
half of New Guinea is divided between England 
and Germany, while half of the island of Timor is 
Portuguese ; the rest of the archipelago forms the 
possession known as Netherlands India, or the 
Dutch Bast Indies. The most important and 
the most densely populated of these islands are 
Java and Sumatra ; at the last census, in 1899, 
Java alone had twenty-six millions of inhabitants, 
more than four times as many as in 1826, but the 
richness of its soil is so great that it could support 
a much larger population, though the island is 
only about the same size as England. 

Java was taken by the English in 181 1 from 
the French flag, but was restored at the Peace of 
Vienna to the Netherlands, together with some 
of the other Dutch colonies. As Dr. Bright re- 
marks in his History of England, " It has been 
believed that its value and wealth were not thor- 
oughly known or appreciated by the Ministry at 
the time." It has now become by far the most 
important of the Dutch dependencies, and the 
favourite colony for fortune-hunters. 

Considering the great wealth of the Dutch 
Indies, it is a little surprising that so few young 
men are tempted to go out there to seek their 
fortunes. As is usually the case in the tropics, 
those parts of the coasts which are low and 
marshy are very unhealthy for Europeans, who 
cannot stay in such places for any length of time 



266 Dutch Life 

without falling victims to malaria, though the 
Malays do not seem to be affected by the climate ; 
but higher up, from 500 to 1000 feet above the 
sea, it is healthy enough, and up the hills, in the 
larger islands, the climate leaves little to be de- 
sired. The temperature generally varies between 
70 and go degees all the year round, though there 
is a certain amount of difference between one 
island and another. North of the equator the 
rainy monsoon lasts from October to April, and 
the dry season from April to October, while on 
the south side these seasons are reversed. On the 
line, however, the trade-winds and monsoons ap- 
pear very irregularly, because there are four 
seasons instead of two — that is to say, two rainy 
and two dry — and the weather is also subject to 
frequent changes of a local character, especially 
in the neighbourhood of mountain-ranges and 
volcanoes. With the exception of Borneo and 
the central part of the Celebes all these islands 
are volcanic. In the principal group, which 
stretches from Sumatra and Java to the Timor 
Laut archipelago, there are no less than thirty- 
three active volcanoes, of which twelve are in 
Java, besides a number of so-called extinct ones 
which may at any moment burst into renewed 
life. Some of the smaller islands are merely 
sunken volcanoes, such as Gebeh, for instance, 
and the Banda Islands, where the " Goonong 
Api " (Fire-mountain) is a living proof. The 
best known of all these volcanoes is the terrible 



Holland over Sea 267 

Cracatoa, one of the three which may be seen in 
the Straits of Sunda. Readers may remember the 
great eruption of 1886, when half the island of 
Cracatoa and part of the mountain, which was 
split clean in two, were sv/allowed up in the sea, 
and parts of the coasts of Java and Sumatra were 
overwhelmed by the tidal wave that accompanied 
the outburst, ships being lifted bodily on to the 
land and left perched among the hills. In one 
day and night 100,000 persons perished, and ex- 
cept a slight earthquake, which, as earthquakes 
are not uncommon in that part of the world, was 
naturally not regarded as serious, there was no 
warning of the impending disaster, for the crater 
had shown no signs of life for 200 years. During 
the eruption a roar as of distant artillery could be 
heard in the middle of Java, fully 400 miles from 
the scene. 

The form of the islands prevents the existence 
of very large rivers ; the largest are in Borneo, 
the only non-volcanic island in the archipelago 
which can boast of three navigable rivers each 
about 400 miles long. Owing to the narrowness 
of Java and Sumatra, the rivers flowing towards 
the north-east coasts of these islands are very 
rapid, and as they are liable to be suddenly 
swollen by heavy rains, canals have been dug, 
and others are in course of construction, to ensure 
a regular outflow and protect the land from floods. 
In an undertaking of this kind the Dutch are 
quite at home, for, as everyone knows, they are 



268 Dutch Life 

past-masters in the art of taming the waters; but 
they have not to push back the sea here, as they 
have done and are still doing in their native 
country ; the rivers do that for them, by bringing 
down masses of gravel and mud, which form wide 
banks at their mouths and are soon overgrown 
with trees. The light-house at Batavia, in Java, 
was built about the middle of the seventeenth 
century at what was then the entrance to the 
harbour ; now it is two and a half miles from the 
entrance, the shore having advanced that distance 
in 250 years. 

Before passing to the question of government, 
it may be well to notice the principal races with 
which the Dutch have to deal. Besides the native 
population, the Dutch Indies contained in 1892 
about 446,000 Chinese, 20,000 Arabs, and 26,000 
other Asiatics, but only 55,000 Europeans, includ- 
ing the soldiers, many of whom are Germans. 
The greater part of all these are found in Java. 
Of the remaining 35^ millions the majority are 
Malays, including Malays proper and several 
kindred races, and to this last class belong the 
Javanese, who live in Java, Madura, Bally (or 
Bali), and lyombok. Natives other than Malays 
are the Dyaks, in the interior of Borneo, the Bat- 
taks, in the interior of Sumatra, and finally the 
Papuans, who inhabit New Guinea, or Papua, 
and some of the small islands near. These Papu- 
ans are said to be of the same race as the Austral- 
ian aborigines, and are the only black people in 



Holland over Sea 269 

these islands, the other inhabitants being light- 
brown or copper-coloured. In religion, most of 
the Malays are Mohammedans, but the people of 
Bally and Lombok are still Brahmins, while the 
Dyaks and Battaks are of very primitive faiths. 
From remote times until 1478 Brahminism and 
Buddhism were the principal religions, but in 
that year the faith of Islam began to supersede 
them. The ancient religions were responsible for 
a degree of civilisation never arrived at by the 
Mohammedans, traces of which are seen in the 
numerous ruins of cities and temples that must 
have been of great beauty and grandeur which 
are found in Java, and also in the Javanese liter- 
ature, which is written in its own peculiar charac- 
ters, and the wayangs, or shadow-plays, which 
are performed on every festive occasion, and all 
of which refer to a history of conquest and wars 
waged in the times of Brahminism. 

Here the problem which confronts the Dutch 
authorities is the old one of uniting under one 
government populations difiering in blood and 
religion, a problem which always presents great 
difficulties and even a certain amount of danger. 
The system adopted resembles, to some extent, 
that applied to certain native States in British 
India, and the islands are governed by native 
kings and princes, under the paternal supervision 
of the Netherlands India Government, which 
consists of a Governor-General, or Viceroy, and 
a Council of four Councillors of State, of which 



270 Dutch Life 

the Viceroy is President. Under these there are 
three Governors and thirty-four Residents, all 
Europeans, with several Assistant-Residents and 
Controleurs, each of whom has a district as- 
signed to hira, in which he has to maintain order 
and see that the land is kept in proper cultivation. 
The Indian princes are made Government oflScials 
by the fact of being paid by the Dutch Govern- 
ment, and bear the oflScial titles of Regent, De- 
mang, etc., but they also keep their own 
grander-sounding titles, such as Raden Adi- 
patti, and so on, of which they are naturally 
very proud. It is the duty of a Resident to 
advise the Regent of his district and at the same 
time to keep a watch on him and see that he does 
not oppress his subjects. If a Regent is proved 
to be guilty of oppression, or in case of sedition 
or the fostering of rebellion, he is deposed by the 
Government, and a better man is appointed in 
his place, if possible one of his own relatives, so 
that the lower classes may be protected and the 
authority of the native nobility be upheld at the 
same time. In some ' ' up-country ' ' districts, in 
Borneo and Celebes, however, the native rulers 
are practically independent, and the Dutch Gov- 
ernment is not at present inclined to assert its 
authority by force of arms ; while in the north- 
west of Sumatra, though the Atchinese pirates 
have at last been suppressed, the war party is not 
yet extinct. 
Throughout these dependencies the aim of the 



Holland over Sea 271 

Government is to rule the inhabitants through 
men of their own race, not to substitute foreigners 
for natives ; and if fault can be found with this 
policy it is that too little restraint is put upon the 
intermixture of the white and coloured races. 

The splendid fertilit}^ of the soil and the great 
quantity of land yet uncultivated naturally led the 
Dutch to seek some means by which the natural 
advantages of their islands might be put to better 
use, and to this end they set to work to overcome 
the indolent habits of the natives, who were not 
inclined to do more than they considered neces- 
sary for their own subsistence, and to induce 
them to devote more of their time and energies to 
agriculture. In return for good roads and bridges 
and the protection afforded by the Government, 
the natives were induced to give a certain amount 
of their time to the cultivation of coffee, sugar, 
indigo, and other crops. In this way they were 
taxed not in coin but in labour; and this system, 
known as the " Culture system," has produced 
very good results, especially in Java and Madura. 
Gradually, however, under the influence of the 
younger members of the governing nation, the 
cultivation of sugar and partly that of coffee also 
was dropped by the Government, and left to 
private enterprise, but, supervision by the Gov- 
ernment being thereby abandoned, cases occurred 
of abuse of power by the co7icessionnaires ; and 
though much has been done to prevent such 
abuse, it must be admitted that the condition of 



2 72 Dutch Life 

native workmen is not so good in the private con- 
cessions as it was under the direct authority of the 
Government. 

Meanwhile, the outlook is promising ; the de- 
velopment of the natural resources of the islands 
goes steadily on, though the rate of progress may 
not be particularly rapid, and the inhabitants are 
generally peaceful and well-behaved, while their 
number increases at a rate which seems to indicate 
continued and growing prosperity. The schools, 
too, are doing good work, and more and more of 
the natives are learning the language of their 
rulers. When a Malay has learned enough 
Dutch to express himself fairly clearly in that 
language, he is very proud of the accomplish- 
ment, and seldom misses an opportunity of dis- 
playing his knowledge. 

One of the greatest drawbacks to the moral ad- 
vance of the native is the bad example set by 
Europeans, on which it will be needful to say 
more later. Things are not nearly so bad in this 
respect as they formerly were, but still the un- 
principled life which many of the white men are 
leading gives rise to doubt in the native mind as 
to the blessings of Western civilisation. 

That the native races are generally well-dis- 
posed towards the Dutch is borne out by the 
number that take service under the Government 
as police and as soldiers. Every two or three 
miles along the Government roads in Java one 
may meet a Gardoe, or patrol of the country 



Holland over Sea 273 

police, consisting of three bare-footed Javanese 
constables, in uniform of a semi-European cut 
and armed with kreeses. 

As we have already seen, the army which the 
Dutch maintain in their Kast Indian colonies is 
quite distinct from the home army of Holland. 
On their arrival the men are quartered in bar- 
racks, and the ofl&cers and married non-commis- 
sioned officers find houses at a moderate rent close 
by. The barracks consist not of single buildings 
but of many separate ones, so that the different 
races among the native troops may be kept dis- 
tinct. Malays, Javanese, Madurese, Amboinese, 
Bugis, Macassarese, and the rest must all have 
separate buildings to themselves. Formerly there 
were Ashantees too, but the recruiting of these 
was stopped when the colony of St. George del 
Mina, on the Gold Coast, was transferred to 
England on the surrender of British claims in the 
north of Sumatra ; very good soldiers they were, 
but cruel in war, giving no quarter, and very 
difficult to restrain in the heat of action. The 
native troops are officered by Europeans, but the 
sergeants and corporals are always of the same 
race as the men under them. 

Great care is taken to safeguard the health of 
the troops, not only in the arrangement of bar- 
racks and in the selection of positions for garri- 
sons, which are chosen as much on hygienic as on 
strategic grounds, but also by the establishment 
of military hospitals. In most large towns, and 



2 74 Dutch Life 

in smaller places on the coast where forts have 
been built, there are military hospitals, and to 
these any European, whether soldier or civilian, 
who falls ill is immediately taken ; in fact, no 
others exist, except some sanatoria recently 
founded in the hills. A naval ofl&cer who often 
visited these hospitals, as well as hospital ships in 
war time, describes them as " models of neatness, 
cleanliness, order, and usefulness. I^ife in such 
a hospital," he declares, " is a luxury, not 
to be compared with anything of the kind in 
neighbouring colonies." 

For many j^ears a considerable force has been 
constantly employed in Atchin, and a number of 
ships of war have been cruising along the coast 
to assist in the suppression of piracy. 

The Colonial fleet is made up of some war- 
ships built in Holland and others built in India, 
expressly for the Indian service, including a num- 
ber of small coasting-steamers and sailing-vessels 
and a steamer or two specially detailed for hydro- 
graphical work. The necessity for these last 
arises from the shoals and coral reefs which 
abound in the Java and Flores Seas, in the Straits 
of Macassar, and among the Moluccas, and from 
the fact that the creeks and river-mouths are very 
shallow, and full of convenient hiding-places for 
pirate proas; it is most important, therefore, that 
both men-of-war and merchantmen should be 
kept supplied with good charts. 

Piracy is an evil which the Colonial fleet is 



Holland over Sea . 275 

specially designed to check, and it used to be very 
bad at one time, before the Ballinese War of 1845. 
In the year before this, a Dutch merchantman, 
the Overyssel, stranded on the coast of Bally, and 
the crew were massacred, and ship and cargo 
looted by the Ballinese. This led to three ex- 
peditions; one in 1845, another, which was under- 
taken with an insufficient force and ended in 
disaster to the Dutch in 1847, ^^^ the third and 
final one, successfully carried out by an army of 
10,000 men and six warships, together with 6000 
auxiliary troops from the island of I^onibok. But 
while piracy was thus put down to the east of 
Java, the Atchinese pirates grew bolder than ever 
in the west, and complaints from Malay traders 
who were Netherlands subjects became more and 
more frequent. Numerous punitive expeditions 
were sent against the piratical Rajas in the 
north-west of Sumatra, but in most cases the real 
culprits escaped. At last, about 1873, the Gov- 
ernment resolved to put an end to this state of 
things, and a force under General van Swieten 
seized the Kraton, or chief fortress. General van 
der Hey den took over the command in 1877, ^^^ 
soon captured and fortified Kota Raja, and two 
5'ears later, though his troops suffered heavily 
from the climate, he had the whole country of 
Atchin subdued. The Home Government, how- 
ever, misled by the apparent submission of the 
enemy, did away with military rule before they had 
made certain that no treachery was meditated, 



276 Dutch Life 

and on the arrival of a civil Governor all the 
advantages which had been won were again lost, 
and at last a state of war had to be proclaimed 
once more. From that time onward the Atchinese 
War became a chronic disease, but since an ag- 
gressive policy was adopted in 1898 the war party 
in Atchin has rapidly diminished, and it is now 
almost extinct. Fighting of a guerrilla kind is 
reported from time to time, but peace is so far 
restored that the General is able to send some of 
his men home, and the people can cultivate their 
rice-fields and pepper-gardens unmolested. They 
are for the most part well-disposed towards the 
Dutch, whose ofl&cers, in their proclamations, 
have alwaj's been careful to explain that the war 
was only against the murderers and robbers who 
made the coasts and country unsafe, and that no 
one would be harmed so long as he went peace- 
fully about his business. Piracy on the Atchinese 
coast is now also a thing of the past, and will be 
so as long as the Government remains firm. 

To turn to more peaceful subjects, Netherlands 
India is favoured above most lands in the richness 
and variety of its products, its mineral wealth 
alone being sufl&cient to make it a most valuable 
possession from a commercial point of view. A 
part of the Government revenue is derived from 
the sale of tin, which is found in several islands, 
and coal-fields exist in Sumatra and I,aut, while 
gold is found on the west coast of Borneo and also 
in Sumatra, where the Ophir district no doubt owes 



Holland over Sea 277 

its name to the presence of the precious metal. 
Another mineral product is petroleum, which has 
made the fortunes of several lucky colonists ; it 
is found in many places, but the principal supply 
comes from Sumatra. These are some of the 
chief products, but they by no means exhaust the 
list, nor is the wealth of the colonies confined 
to minerals ; there are the pearl-fisheries, for 
example, amongst the little islands lying south- 
west of New Guinea, and the Moluccas contribute 
mother-of-pearl and tortoise-shell, but the real 
wealth of the islands lies in the extraordinary 
fertility of the soil. Most of the land is clay, 
coloured red by the iron ore which it contains, 
and will grow almost anything, besides being 
very suitable for making bricks. Sugar, tea, 
coffee, indigo, and tobacco are grown in large 
quantities for export, and the principal crops 
cultivated b}'^ the natives are rice (in the marshy 
districts), maize, cotton, and many kinds of fruit 
which are also grown in British India. Most of 
the inhabitants are tillers of the soil, but the mari- 
time natives are naturally occupied chiefly in the 
fisheries, and it is a very pretty sight, at any 
little fishing village, to see the boats start out for 
the hoped-for haul. Just before sunrise scores of 
little fishing-boats with bamboo masts and huge 
triangular mat-sails slip out of the creeks before 
the fresh land-wind, which lasts just long enough 
to carry them to the fishing-ground in the oflSng, 
and about four o'clock in the afternoon a 



278 Dutch Life 

sea-breeze springs up, and back they all come, 
generally laden with splendid fish. The evening 
breeze often attains such strength that the little 
boats would capsize if it were not for a balanciug- 
board pushed out to windward, on which one or 
two, or sometimes three, men stand to act as a 
counterpoise, so that it may not be necessary to 
shorten sail. The Malays excel in boat-building, 
and rank very high in the art of shaping vessels 
which offer the least possible resistance to the 
water, and their boats fly over the surface of the 
sea in the most wonderful manner. If we except 
the rude tree-trunks used here and there, the 
vessels made by the Malays may serve, and have 
served, as models for swift sailing-craft all over 
the world. 

Amongst the other industries for which the 
Malays, and the Javanese especially, are noted, 
the principal is the manufacture of textile fabrics; 
sometimes these are very skilfully dyed in orna- 
mental patterns, and show considerable artistic 
taste. 

Besides boat-building and weaving, the crafts 
of the blacksmith and carpenter should be men- 
tioned, and also that of the gold and silversmith, 
for this indicates the source of many of the treas- 
ures with which wealthy Dutch homes in the old 
country abound. 

Now that the war in Atchin is practically over 
it is not unlikely that the next few years may see 
greater advances in the commerce and industries 



Holland over Sea 279 

of Netherlands India, especially as the trade re- 
turns report that a great industrial awakening is 
taking place at the present time in Holland, in 
which case there will be a rush of emigrants to 
the colonies. As has been said before, the climate 
out there is not unhealthy as a rule, but of course 
Europeans have to adapt their life to their sur- 
roundings. Profiting by the example of the 
natives, they have learned to make their houses 
very airy and cool. A large overhanging roof 
shades the entrances, front and rear, and the 
windows are without glass, except in the old 
cities, its place being taken by bamboo Venetian 
blinds. Verandahs run along the front and back 
of the house, which has generally one story only, 
and never more than two, and the rooms open 
either on these verandahs or on a central room 
which divides the house through the middle. 
The kitchen and store-rooms are in outbuildings 
at the back, and the garden all round the house 
is planted with cocoanut, banana, and mango 
trees, for the sake of their shade as well as for 
the fruit. 

On paying a visit to such a house you go up 
two or three steps on to the front verandah, 
where a servant-boy offers you a chair and a 
drink, and then goes to find his master, who 
presently joins you. You are never asked to 
' ' come in " ; if the front verandah is too hot, an 
adjournment is made to the back. Sometimes, 
in the interior of the country, visitors are received 



28o Dutch Life 

in tbe garden, where they enjoy their cheroot 
Indian fashion, reclining rather than sitting. But 
this dolce far niente does not kill work, for mer- 
chants in the towns work pretty hard, and have 
to be at their offices during the heat of the day, 
from nine to five, and even on Sunday, if it hap- 
pens to be mail-day. Other people take life 
rather easier, especially in the countrj-, where 
the routine is as follows, more or less : rise at six, 
bathe, breakfast at seven ; then dress and go to 
work at nine ; at twelve o'clock lunch, after 
which one lies down to sleep or read for a couple 
of hours ; tea at four, and then a second bath. 
After five it is cool enough to dress and go for 
a walk or drive until dinner-time, and after dinner 
you may go for another drive or visit your neigh- 
bours. On Sundays you go to church from 
eleven to twelve, and take things easy for the 
rest of the day. 

Travelling, if for any distance, is done at night, 
both by Europeans and natives, and if a native 
has to walk far he usually carries a mat, and 
when the day begins to get hot he unrolls his mat 
and lies down on it by the roadside. It does not 
surprise anyone, therefore, to find seeming idlers 
asleep in the daytime along the roadside. Na- 
turally, the little wayside shops which are found 
at every corner are not shut up or removed at 
night, as most of their trade is done then, but if 
customers are few the shopkeeper will fall asleep 
among his wares. The Government roads are 



Holland over Sea 281 

well guarded by the native police, and at regular 
intervals there are stations where fresh horses can 
be procured, if they are bespoken in time by 
letter or telegraph. 

The colonist's life does not seem to be a very 
hard one on the whole, though no doubt there are 
drawbacks, such as, for instance, the want of 
schools. At present many Dutch children born 
in India are sent to Holland to be educated, not, 
as in the case of Anglo-Indians, for the sake of 
their health, but because there is not a suflScient 
number of schools in these colonies. This want 
will be remedied in time, so that colonists may be 
spared the trouble and expense of sending their 
children to Europe ; but the only Dutch schools 
in Java that I know of are the Gymnasium at 
Willem III. (Batavia) and one high school for 
girls. Native schools are more numerous, and 
are being multiplied not only by the Government 
but by the missionaries. The attitude of the In- 
dian Government towards missionary work has 
changed immenselj'^ for the better in the last forty 
years, and the labours of the missionaries are now 
appreciated very highly by both the Indian and 
the Home Government, and deservedly so, for 
the task of the Government has been ver)'' much 
lightened through the improvement in the atti- 
tude of the natives, owing largely to the work of 
the missions. 

As to the life and customs of the natives, it is 
not necessary to describe all the different races, 



282 Dutch Life 

but the Malay villages deserve notice. In Java 
and Sumatra these are not arranged in streets, 
but the houses are grouped under large trees, and 
are separated from the road by a bamboo fence, 
on the top of which notice-boards are fixed at in- 
tervals bearing the names of the villages ; these 
are necessary, because it is often difiBcult to see 
where one village ends and the next begins. In 
the open spaces may be seen a few sacred warin- 
gin trees, in which are hung wooden bells, used 
to sound an alarm or call the villagers together. 
Before the house of a native Regent is an open 
square, with a pandoppo, or roof on pillars, in 
the centre, and here meetings are held, proclama- 
tions read, and distinguished visitors received. 
The houses are built of bamboo and roofed with 
palm-leaves; and sometimes they have floors of 
split bamboo, but often the hard clay soil serves 
as a floor. There are usually two or more sleep- 
ing-places, called bale-balis, also made of bam- 
boo, split and plaited, and over these another 
floor, which forms a sort of loft or store-room. 
There is no fireplace, all the cooking being done 
outside. Such a house can be bought for about 
five shillings ! It takes a few men two or three 
weeks to build one, but to take it down and re- 
move it to a new site is a matter of only a few 
hours. Near the houses are the stables, where 
the buffaloes and carts are kept, and here and 
there is a well, over which hangs a balancing-pole, 
with a bucket at one end and a stone at the other. 



Holland over Sea 283 

The children play about naked until they are 
ten years old, when they dress like their elders, 
and consider themselves men and women. The 
costume of the Malay women consists of the 
sarong a cloth about 3^2 yards long and x^i 
wide, which is wound round the body and held 
by a belt and then rolled up just above the feet ; 
over this a wide coat called a kabaya is worn, 
and over all a slendang, which is very much 
like a sarong, but is worn hanging over one 
shoulder, and in this is slung anything too large 
to be easily carried in the hands — even the baby. 
The men wear either sarongs, or trousers, or 
both, and a cotton jacket, and are always armed 
either with kreeses or chopping-knives, carried in 
their belts ; the weapons are for cutting down 
cocoanuts and bamboo, and for protection against 
snakes and tigers. Both sexes wear their hair 
long, the men with head-cloths and the women 
with flowers and herbs, and all go barefooted. 
The men are very good horsemen, and ride, 
like the Zulus and other coloured men, with only 
their big toes in the stirrups. 

In Bally and I^ombok the inhabitants are of 
the same race as the people of Java and Sumatra, 
but differ in religion and habits, having never 
been wholly subjected by the Mohammedans. 
The difference is chiefly noticeable in the con- 
struction of their houses, which are of stone in 
many cases, and built in streets. Each house has 
three compartments and a fireplace, or altar, 



284 Dutch Life 

which stands in the middle, opposite the door ; 
the floors are sometimes paved, and the roofs are 
often covered with tiles instead of leaves, and 
supported by carved pillars. 

These Brahmins have numerous temples, which 
are quite different from anything in the neigh- 
bouring islands, being built of brick and divided 
into sections by low walls, but without roofs ; 
walls and gates are painted red, white, and blue, 
and inside stand a number of altars, on which 
offerings are laid. Brahminism survives in some 
of the other islands, at some distance from the 
coast, and occasionally a religious festival ends in 
a riot between Brahmins and Mohammedans. 

The staple food of the Malay races is rice, 
which is cooked very dry, with fried or dried fish or 
shrimps and vegetables, and flavoured with chilis, 
onions, and salt. Dried beef and venison are also 
used, and wild pig and chickens and ducks are 
plentiful ; other articles of food being maize, sweet 
potatoes, and many kinds of fruit, such as cocoa- 
nuts, bananas, mangoes, mangusteens, and so on. 
In the Moluccas the staple crop is not rice, but 
sago, which is prepared from the sap of the sago- 
palm. To an inhabitant of Java or Sumatra the 
cocoanut tree is indispensable ; when a child is 
born, a nut is planted, and later on, if the child 
asks how old he is, his mother shows him the 
young palm, and tells him that he is " as old as 
that cocoanut tree." The nuts are boiled for the 
oil, and the white flesh is eaten, cooked in various 



Holland over Sea 285 

ways, generally with other food. All kinds of 
provisions and other goods, from butcher's meat 
to needles and thread, are sold at the passars, 
or markets, which are attended by large crowds. 

Mention has been made of the moral example 
set by some Europeans to the natives. Generally 
the relations between the white and coloured 
races are those of superiors and inferiors, but in 
the matter of matrimony there is a difference. 
Many white men in Netherlands India never 
dream of marrying ; they take to themselves 
njais, or housekeepers. The same thing is 
done in other colonies, at least in provinces far 
removed from European society, when native 
customs allow it. The ancient customs of the 
Malays and Javanese did not prescribe any re- 
ligious ceremony for marriages ; they had their 
adat, or customs, which were as strictly ad- 
hered to as if they had been religious, but there 
was nothing consecrating the marriage-tie. More- 
over, their notions of hospitality, which are similar 
to those of most primitive races, no doubt encour- 
aged the above-mentioned free marriages, or at 
least they explain how it was that the Malay 
women had no objection to becoming the 7tjais 
of Europeans. Where such a woman was the 
daughter of a prince or chief, the European who 
took her was invariably some high oflBcial, whose 
position brought him into contact with noble Java- 
nese families. These young women are remark- 
ably graceful, even fascinating, and, besides, have 



286 Dutch Life 

received a good Javanese education, and it is not 
surprising that such "marriages " were sometimes 
happy and permanent. 

The sons were sent to Europe to be educated, 
being entrusted to the care of a guardian, uncle, 
or friend, and on their return to India soon found 
employment in the service of the Government ; 
the girls stayed at home, and generally married 
well. 

Such instances, however, are rare ; more often 
the man regarded his njai merely as a tem- 
porary helpmate, and if he saw a chance would 
marry some rich Kuropean girl, when the Indian 
wife would be set aside — " sent into the bush," as 
the phrase was. That such behaviour should 
have roused the wrath and hatred of the dis- 
carded wives and their relatives was but natural. 
Often the Kuropean bride, sometimes the faith, 
less husband too, fell by the hand of a murderer 
who could never be found, or was poisoned by a 
maid-servant or cook who was bought over to 
assist in the work of vengeance. The cast-out 
children sometimes played a part in these trage- 
dies ; if not, they certainly retained a hatred of 
Europeans generally, and rumours of mutiny 
were the consequence. 

How this state of things can be remedied is a 
question which has long occupied the attention 
of the Government. Gradually, however, the 
mixed population is becoming more educated, and 
can find employment in Government and mercan- 



Holland over Sea 287 

tile oflSces, as all excel in beautiful handwriting. 
A better feeling generally exists, and a keener 
sense of social duty is coming over the Europeans, 
so that a good many have really married the 
mothers of their children, a thing which fifty 
years ago was never heard of. There now ex- 
ists a mixed race of Eurasians, children of the 
children of European fathers and Indian mothers, 
which at one time threatened to become a source 
of danger and insurrection, but all fear of trouble 
in that quarter is past. Of the " inland child- 
ren ' ' many are now receiving a good education. 
In the Government schools they can learn enough 
to hold their own in point of knowledge against 
a large proportion of the Europeans in the col- 
ony, and they find employment in ofl&ces and 
shops, on the railway and post-o£Bce staffs, and 
on public works almost as quickly as pure whites. 




INDEX 

AsMiMiSTRATivs system, 76 
Amu«ements, national, 32 
Army, the, 247, 273 
Art, modern, 180 

CANAI3 and their population, the, 63 
Capital, life in the, 6, 15 
Capital punishment, 234 
Characteristics, national, i 
Christmas customs, loi 
Church, relation of State to, 236 
Churches, Dutch, 79, 235 
Clergymen, Dutch, 26, 43, 78 
Colonies, the Dutch, 253, 264 
Costumes, rural, 46, 83, 91 
Court, the, 11 
Customs, popular, 94, 99, 114, 13a 

DrvoRCB, the law of, 233 
Dykes, the, 63, 257 

Bastbr customs, 100 
Education, public, 30, 72, 134 

Farms and farmers, 76, 83 
Freemasonry, Dutch, 245 
Friendly Societies, 58 
Funerals, customs at, 1 10 

289 



290 Index 

Gambs, children's, 135 
Girls, freedom of Dutch, 44 

HOM« life, 21, 37, 48, 51, 88 

INDIES, the Dutch, 264 

JUSTICS, administration of, 931 

KSRMIS, the, 114 

I^ABOUR, conditions of, 50 

I^aw court, description of a Dutch, 3s6 

Literature and literary life, 185, 193 

MARRiAGiC and marriage customs, 47, 103 
Music, 145 

NaTionai, characteristics, i ; types, 5 
Navy, the, 248 
Newspapers, the, 199 

Palm PcMSchen, 100 
Peasantry, the, 7, 76, 83 
Poets, modem Dutch, 188, 190 
Political life and parties, 207 
Press, the, 199 
Professional classes, the, n 

QUI5BN Wllhelmina, it 

R£ad:kks, the Dutch as, 193 
Reading Societies, 196 
Religious life, 235 
Renaissance, the literary, i8y 
Rontntelpot, loi 
Rural customs, 94, 99, 114 



Index 291 



SCH0013, the, 30, 72, 154 
Sculpture in Holland, 184 
Skaters, the Dutch as, 138 
Social life, 37 
Society, Dutch, li, 35 
Song, national love of, 145 
State, relation of Church to, 235 
St. Nicholas, festival of, 114, 12T 
Student life, 169 
Sunday in the country, 79, 133 

Theatre, the, 147 
Thrift, Dutch, 7 

Universities, the, 167 

Vii.i,AGE life, 76 

Wages of labour, 50, 97 
Wedding customs, 47, 103 
Women, position of, 37 
Working classes, the, 50. 

THE END 



Our European Neighbours 

Edited by WILLIAM HARBUTT DAWSON 

1J9. Illustrated. Each, net $1.20 
By Mail 1.30 

I.— FRENCH LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By Hannah Lynch. 

" Miss Lynch 's pages are thoroughly interesting and suggestive. 
Her style, too, is not common. It is marked by vivacity •without 
any drawback of looseness, and resembles a stream that runs 
strongly and evenly between walls. It is at once distinguished and 
useful. . . . Her five-pa^e description (not dramatization) of the 
graspinaf Paris landlady is a capital piece of work. . . . Such 
■well-finished portraits are frequent in Miss Lynch's book, which is 
•mall, inexpensive, andofareal excellence."— The London Academj'. 
" Miss Lynch 's book is particularly notable. It is the first of a 
series describing the home and social life of various European 
peoples— a series long needed and sure to receive a warm welcome. 
Her style is frank, vivacious, entertaining, captivating, just the 
kind for a book which is not at all statistical, political, or contro- 
versial. A special excellence of her book, reminding one of Mr. 
Whiteing's, lies in her continual contrast of the English and the 
French, and she thus sums up her praises : ' The English are 
admirable : the French are lovable.' "—The Outlook. 

IL--aERMAN LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By W. H. Dawson, author of "Germany and the 
Germans," etc. 

"The book Is as full of correct, impartial, well-digested, and 
well-presented information as an e^% is of meat. One can only 
recommend it heartily and without reserve to all who wish to gain 
an Insight into German life. It worthily presents a great nation, 
MOW the greatest and strongest in Europe. ' '— Commercial A dvertiser. 

:.M RUSSIAN LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By Francis H. E. Palmer, sometime Secretary to 
H. H. Prince Droutskop-Loubetsky (Equerry to 
H. M. the Emperor of Russia). 

" We would recommend this above all other works of its cnarao- 
terto those seeking a cleat general understanding of Russian life, 
character, and conditions, but who have not the leisure or inclinar 
tion to read more voluminous tomes. ... It cannot be too highly 
recommended, for it conveys practically all that well-infonnea 
people should know of ' Our European Neighbours.' "—M'"<il and 
express. 



Our European Neighbours 



IV.— DUTCH LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By P. M. Hough, B.A. 

" There is no other book which gives one so clear a picture of 
actual life in the Netherlands at the present date. For its accurate 
presentation of the Dutch situation in art, letters, learning, and 
politics as well as in the round of common life in town and city, 
this book deserves the heartiest praise." — Evening Post. 

"Holland is always interesting, in any line of study. In this 
work its charm is carefully preserved. The sturdy toil of the people, 
their quaint characteristics, their conservative retention of old dress 
and customs, their quiet abstention from taking part in the great 
affairs of the world are clearly reflected in this faithful mirror. The 
illustrations are of a high grade of photographic reproductions."— 
Washington Post. 

V SWISS LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By Alfred T. Story, author of the " Building of 
the British Empire," etc. 

"We do not know a single compact book on the same subject 
in which Swiss character in all its variety finds so sympathetic and 
yet thorough treatment ; the reason of this being that the author 
has enjoyed privileges of unusual intimacy with all classes, which 
prevented his lumping the people as a whole without distinction 
of racial and cantonal ke\mg."— Nation. 

"There is no phase of the lives of these sturdy republicans, 
whether social or political, which Mr. Story does not touch upon ; 
and an abundance of illustrations drawn from unhackneyed sub- 
jects adds to the value of the hook.."— Chicago Dial. 

VI.— SPANISH LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By L. HiGGiN. 

" Illuminating in all of its chapters. She writes in thorough 
sympathy, bom of long and intimate acquaintance with Spanish 
people of to-day."— 5;f. Paul Press. 

"The author knows her subject thoroughly and has written a 
most admirable volume. She writes with genuine love for the 
Spaniards, and with a sympathetic knowledge of their character 
and their method of life." — Canada Methodist Review. 



Our European Neighbours 



VII.— ITALIAN LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By LUIGI ViLLARI. 

" A most interesting and instructive volume, which presents an 
intimate view of the social habits and manner of thought of the 
people of which it treats." — Buffalo Express. 

" A book full of information, comprehensive and accurate. Its 
numerous attractive illustrations add to its interest and value. We 
are glad to welcome such an addition to an excellent series. "— 
Syracusu Herald. 



VIII.— DANISH LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By Jessie H, Brochner. 

" Miss Brochner has written an interesting book on a fascinat' 
ing subject, a book which should arouse an interest in Denmark in 
those who have not been there, and which can make those who 
know and are attracted by the country very homesick to return." — 
Commercial Advertiser. 

" She has sketched with loving art the simple, yet pure and 
elevated lives of her countrymen, and given the reader an excellent 
idea of the Danes from every point of view."— Chicago Tribune, 



IX AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN LIFE IN TOWN AND 

COUNTRY 

By Francis H. E. Palmer, author of •* Russian 

Life in Town and Country," etc. 

"No volume in this interesting series seems to us so notable ot 
valuable as this on Austro-Hungarian life. Mr. Palmer's long resi« 
dence in Europe and his intimate association with men of mark, 
especially in their home life, has given to him a richness of expert- 
ence evident on every page of the book." — The Outlook. 

"This book cannot be too warmly recommended to those who 
Idiave not the leisure or the spirit to read voluminous tomes of this 
subject, yet we wish a clear general understanding of Austro-Huu 
Carian "^t."— Hartford Times. 



Our European Neighbours 



X.— TURKISH LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By L. M. J. Garnett. 

" The general tone of the book is that of a careful study, the 
■tyle is flowing, and the matter is presented in a bright, taking 
way."— 5^ Paul Press. 

" To the average mind the Turk is a little better than a blood- 
thirsty individual with a plurality of wives and a paucity of vir- 
tues. To read this book is to be pleasantly disillusioned."— /VA/ir 
Opinion. 



XI BELGIAN LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By Demetrius C. Boulger 

" Mr. Boulger has g^iven a plain, straight-forward acconnt of 
the several phases of Belgian lyife, the government, the court, the 
manufacturing centers and enterprises, the literature and science, 
the army, education and religion, set forth informingly." — Tke 
Detroit Free Press. 

" The book is one of real value conscientiously written, and 
well illustrated by good photographs." — The Outlook. 



XII.— SWEDISH LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By G. VON HeidensXam. 

" As we read this interesting book we seem to be wandering 
through this land, visiting its homes and schools and churches, 
studjdng its government and farms and industries, and observing 
the dress and customs and amusements of its healthy and happy 
people. The book is delightfully written and beautifully iUua- 
tt&t^A.."— Presbyterian Sannet . 

"In this intimate account of the Swedish people is given a 
more instructive view of their political and social relations than it 
has been the good fortune of American readers heretofore to o\>- 
t^n."—lf^ashiiigtCH Even. Star. 



Our Asiatic Neighbours 



120. IlIustratMl. BiKli, a«t$l.aB 
By mall ... . |.m 



8.— INDIAN LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By Herbert Compton. 

" Mr. Compton 's book is the best book on India, its life and Ita 
people, that has been published in a long time. The reader will 
nnd It more descriptive and presenting more facts in a wav that 
appeals to the man of English speecn than nine-tenths of the 
volumes written by travellers. It sets forth the experiences of a 
quarter of a century, and in that period a man can learn a good 
deal, even about an alien people and civilization, if he keeps his 
eyes open. If the other volumes in the series are as good as 
Indian Life in Town and Country ' it will score a decided suo- 



'—Brooklyn Eaele. 

" An account of nativelife in India written from the point of view 
of a practical man of affairs who knows India from long residence 
It is bristling with information, brisk and graphic in style, and 
open minded and sjmipathetic in feeling."— ueveland Leader. 



Ii.-JAPANESE LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By George William Knox, D.D. 

" The childlike simplicity, yet innate complexity of the Japanese 
temperament, the strangely mingled combination of new pjid old, 
important and worthless, poetic and commercial instincts, aims, 
and ambitions now at work in the land of the cherry blossom are 
well brought out by Dr. Knox's conscientious representation. The 
book should be widely read and studied, being eminently reason- 
able, readable, reliable, and informative."— Record-Herald. 

"A delightful book, all the more welcome because the ablest 
scholar in Japanese Confucianism that America has yet produced 
has here given us imprcdsions of man and nature in the Archi 
pela.go."'vEvening Poa. 



Our Asiatic Neighbours 



1II.>-CHINBSB LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By E. Bard. Adapted by H. TwilCHRM« 

Evety phase of Chinese life Is touched on, explained, and made 
dear in this volume. The nation's customs, its traits, its religion, 
and its history, are all outlined here, and the book should be of 
great value in arriving at a better understanding of a people and a 
country about which there has been so much misconception. The 
Illustrations add greatly to the value of the book. 

IV.^AUSTRALIAN LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By E. C. BULBY. 

A bright, readable description of life in a fascinating and little- 
known country. The style is frank, vivacious, entertaining, cap- 
tivating, just the kind for a book which is not at all statistical, 
political, or controversial. 

v.— PHILIPPINE LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 

By James A. LbRoy. 

Mr. I^Roy is eminently fitted to write on life in the Philip- 
pines. He was for several years connected with the Department of 
the Interior in the Philippine Government, when he made a 
special investigation of conditions in the islands. Since his return 
he has continued his studies and is already known as an author- 
ity on the Philippines. His book gives a full description of life 
among the native tribes, and also in the Spanish and American 
communities. 



^1)1 



